Crossed Paths
by Sonea Storm Shadow
Summary: What happens when a sudden appearance by a mysterious boy changes the fate of the ninja world for good? Set just after the Third Great Ninja war. This is a Yaoi fic with a lemon in later chapters. RinxOC and KakashixOC. Not for young eyes!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys! My first Yaoi fic staring Kakashi and an OC Guy but I can't tell you his name first. I know, I know, I should be working on Two Worlds Collide and The Jyuubi Jinchuuriki's Immortality but I just couldn't resist… I do work on more than one fic at a time and I've actually finished Two Worlds Collide and just finishing off The Jyuubi Jinchuuriki's Immortality. I like to be near finishing a fic before I post it so I don't leave my loyal fans hanging for too long… If I leave you hanging for too long I'm sorry TT-TT Please forgive me… Anyway here's the first chapter R&R please!

Chapter one

"Has there been any change in his condition?" A man with blonde hair and bright blue eyes asked a nurse, holding a new born baby who was a splitting image of him but with whisker like scars on his cheeks.

"None Yondaime-sama but we're trying everything we can to get him to wake up. We will let you know if anything changes." The nurse said respectfully with a bow and walked down the corridors. He sighed and looked at the sleeping child in his arms and smiled, heading down the corridors and back home to his wife still resting from childbirth the night before.

"Sensei." A voice called out and he smiled, turning around to a girl with brown hair and eyes with purple war paint across her cheeks.

"Rin, come to visit the mystery?" Minato asked her and she smiled and nodded before her face became concerned.

"He hasn't left his side since he found him dying outside the village walls has he?" She asked, staring at the ground, hands clasped tightly behind her back.

"No… But after loosing Obito…" Minato sighed as the air around them became gloomy.

"I know…" She whispered out. A cry/hiccup caught both of their attentions and dispersed the gloom over them as Naruto blinked his blue eyes open and squirmed in Minato's arms.

"Kushina's going to kill me if I don't get him home in time for feeding. I'll see you soon Rin." Minato said with his trademark grin before flashing in a bolt of lightning and he was gone. Rin smiled a little as she headed to a specific room and opened it quietly and peaked in. There was a boy the same age as her sitting with his back to the door next to a still bed. He was hunched over with his head resting on the mattress, his arms acting as a pillow as she snuck in carefully so she didn't startle the seasoned jonin and new ANBU captain.

Lying in the still bed, with the sheets pulled up to under his arms was another boy averaged to be in the same age category as them. He was bandaged up mostly everywhere, the only things peaking through them was his closed eyes, nose, lips and some patches on his arms. The only other thing sticking out was a band he was wearing on his left arm that made a figure 8 with his arm slipping through the two openings and was an onyx colour that was made out of metal and looked to be made specifically to only fit his arm. Rin had also been told that he had midnight blue hair and light steely grey eyes according to Kakashi who came in with the bloody kid practically dying in his arms.

"Kakashi." Rin called softly yet sternly enough to catch his attention as he opened his right eye and blinked, raising his head from the bed and his arms.

"Rin… What time is it?" He asked, wiping the sleep from his masked face.

"Eight in the morning… Why don't you go home and rest while I watch over him for you. I call you if he wakes up or even twitches. Maybe go see Sensei and Kushina-san with little Naruto-kun… It looks like you can use a good home cooked meal." She said sweetly and helping him to stand up and herded him gently to the door as he continued his dazed walk home, yawning under his mask. He put his hands into his pockets after fixing his chest armour to sit right and walked lazily through the peaceful village of Konoha.

The scenes from the night before plagued his brain. Something seemed off about how he found him and the ashen and burnt ground he was found lying close to. Was that flame there to cover the battle it sounded the kid was having outside of the walls or was it just a failed jutsu and the person he was battling got away? Either way, it was lucky he was called off duty from doing the rounds of Konoha otherwise the kid might have been dead by now… Naruto definitely had good timing to pop out suddenly since he wasn't due for another week. Still, being an ANBU meant he had seen a lot of things but that much of someone's own blood pouring out of them was unreal and just caused Kakashi to panic, pick up the kid and rush to the hospital at top speed, never mind the kid could be a ninja trying to enter Konoha and the person he was battling could have been a Konoha shinobi.

Kakashi knew the village was safe with a team of highly skilled ANBU watching his room at all times just in case it was the latter he was thinking about. He definitely wasn't a Konoha shinobi or he would have recognised him or the records would have pulled something up about him being apart of Konoha or even maybe the Fire Country as a whole but something definitely seemed familiar about him and Kakashi was getting annoyed that he couldn't place him when it was so important.

He finally reached his apartment and opened the door with a key that had a Pakkun key ring on it, stepping inside. He locked up again and toed off his shoes, padding through his apartment towards his bedroom that still looked the same even after all of these years, the only personal touches were his team photo above his bed and his green shuriken printed throw over. He pulled off his chest armour and set it down on his desk along with his hitai-ate, ruffling his hair, keeping his scared left eye closed as he walked towards the kitchen. He sighed as it looked like he needed to go shopping for fresh ingredients so instant ramen was his breakfast as he poured the hot water in and made some tea while he waited, sitting down at the little coffee table in his lounge and ate peacefully. He crashed on his bed after cleaning up his breakfast and having a quick shower and slept peacefully.

XXXXXXXXXX

Minato stared outside his office window and sighed tiredly. It had been a busy night the evening before with Naruto coming along and Kakashi finding the mysterious boy outside of village walls, apparently battling someone by Kakashi's description of what led him to find the bloodied and bruised boy, sitting on Death's door. Then came the record searching, trying to place the boy as a member of Konoha or the Fire Country but there were no records of him anywhere and so his personal team of ANBU was put on watch in case there was something more sinister to this. Being Hokage was a pain sometimes even if it was his dream, it took away from personal and family time.

"So… I hear I'm finally a Godfather." A boisterous and proud voice spoke with his usual boisterous laugh as Minato turned around with a smile at his old Master.

"Jiraiya-sensei, it's good to see you." Minato said with a tired smile as he moved back to his chair and sat down, Jiraiya taking the old couch to his right next to the panoramic like windows.

"Word gets around fast huh?" He said with a broad smile, noting Minato's tiredness.

"Depends on the type of word when it comes to you sensei." Minato laughed and Jiraiya pouted like a naughty kid before his expression became serious.

"The word I heard originally was a mysterious and unknown kid was found outside of Konoha's walls all battered and bruised." Jiraiya said and Minato sighed, dropping his head into his hands, rubbing his face tiredly.

"He's still unconscious. Kakashi found him while reporting to the hospital for my son's birth but of coarse being a trained shinobi he is, not much gets past him and he heard the battle happening with the kid and someone else but they got away… Don't worry, I have ANBU with him and Kakashi is a regular visitor there." Minato added when he saw the slight worried look on his mentor's face.

"I see… Well then, we'll just have to visit him later but right now it looks like you could turn in for the night and let me meet my Godson?" Jiraiya said with an excited grin and Minato smiled as he stood up with his mentor and they headed over to Minato's house.

"Kushina, Naruto, I'm home and I brought a visitor." Minato's voice rang gently through the house. Kushina came skidding around the corner with an excited look on her face but then it deadpanned.

"Oh… it's only you Jiraiya." She said and Jiraiya pouted again.

"Such a warm welcome from the lady of the house." He said sarcastically as he headed into the kitchen where Kushina just came from and Minato grinned awkwardly.

"Sorry Kushina, the boy hasn't woken up yet and there is still no change in his condition. We'll just have to wait and see if he wakes up." Minato said, pulling her into a hug and kissed her cheek and Kushina sighed.

"I guess you're right… Well at least I made dinner." She said with a knowing grin and Minato laughed.

"Ramen?" He questioned and laughed as her face lit up, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the kitchen where Jiraiya was already snacking on it.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi yawned under both his cloth mask and white ceramic mask, standing the same place his mind refused to let him rest over. The night was cool and the moon hung bright in the sky giving him enough light to explore the area properly for any clues but none had come up and he had wasted half of his shift already. There's just no other scent left from the battle apart from the boy's and the fire covered any trace of any scent of a body being burned there and he sighed once again, staring down at the blackened ground.

"Ookami-senpai… Don't you think you've wasted enough time pondering… You won't know until the kid actually wakes up so give it a rest until then senpai, we need you with your wits intact." Another ANBU with a cat mask with red and green detailing on it said with some worry to his voice.

"Right… You're right. I'll just wait for my ninken to return and I'll join you for patrol. Thanks Kohai." Kakashi said and Tenzo smiled under his mask before joining the rest of his team once again.

"What am I missing?" Kakashi hissed out in anger before he could hear his pack returning. He dismissed them, took one more look and headed out to catch up with his team.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rin, slid open the hospital door and peaked inside. He hadn't moved but his chest moving up and down, breathing air into his body. She smiled gently and moved inside, she could take a break from her hospital duty for five minutes, besides, she did promise Kakashi she would watch over him and so she pulled the stool up next to his bed and sat down with a sigh of relief, finally being off of her feet.

His skin was pale but a little more of a brown tone compared to Kakashi's pale white skin but he was no where near as dark as Minato-sensei but he had a skin close to what Obito's was and she swallowed back the thought and pushed her missing teammate out of her mind and placed her small smile back onto her face. She took a closer look at his face and could see the midnight blue eyelashes that almost looked black until you tilted your head a certain way for the light to hit it and she smiled, it was unfortunate she was off duty the night before and maybe she would have gotten a proper look at him if she was in the operating theatre.

Sure she was suppose to be concentrating on saving his life but as a shinobi you unconsciously remember things and she was hoping that would have happened because he actually looked kind of cute even with all of the bandages on him… He was a shinobi so he was well toned and mature and she liked boys like that, hence her long time crush over Kakashi. She blushed at the thought and then silently laughed it away with a smile at how odd this was… Fawning over an unconscious boy, fighting for his life and all she could see was patches of skin, closed eyes, a nose and his peach coloured lips and she blushed at the thought again and laughed at herself silently again.

The heart monitor made an irregular beep and it broke her out of her admiration to look up at it to see if something was wrong, her shinobi instincts kicking in straight away, fawning forgotten. She watched it like a hawk and waited to see if it would possibly happen again as she kept herself calm and rational in case he all of a sudden flat lines… Kakashi would never forgive her if she lets him die on her watch.

It beeped twice again and Rin's eyes widened as she smiled. His pulse was getting slowly stronger meaning he was now healing properly and likely to wake up within the week. Rin hopped up and ran quietly out to report to his doctor so he can change the treatments accordingly and watch him closer over the coarse of the next few days… Minato and Kakashi are going to be ecstatic when she tells them after her shift.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Rin jumped across the rooftops with a huge smile on her face, heading to her second home to tell her sensei the good news… She smiled and really hoped she wasn't waking him up or something especially since they have little Naruto now too. She landed on the elevated porch and could feel presences moving around in the house and felt relieved she wasn't waking them up as she knocked politely and waited with her hands clasped behind her back and bouncing onto the balls of her feet.

"Ah Rin. What can I do for you this late evening… You've just finished your shift at the hospital, am I right?" Minato asked, opening the door and instantly smiling, looking physically happier every time he saw his precious students come and visit him at home… He just wished Kakashi would do it more often.

"Yeah I have Sensei. I came straight over from my shift, I hope I'm not intruding." She said, stepping inside and taking off her shoes, following Minato into the kitchen where Kushina sat with Naruto feeding from a bottle in her arms in the connecting dinning room and Jiraiya stood calmly by the wall separating the two.

"No, you're not intruding, you could never do that. You know you're welcome here any time you want Rin, it always makes us happy to see you." Kushina said with her usual grin and Rin laughed and sat down next to Kushina and began to coo over Naruto who was falling asleep while drinking and the two ladies laughed.

"It's good to see you Jiraiya-sama." Rin greeted him after they were finished cooing over Naruto and Kushina was just burping him before she stood up to put him down to sleep.

"You too Rin-chan. Still looking as lovely as usual." Jiraiya charmed with his usual boisterous self and he laughed.

"So Rin why the spontaneous visit… You're looking happier than usual?" Minato asked, sitting down across from her.

"Oh right, I almost forgot. I was watching the kid today and it seems his pulse is getting faster and stronger. The doctors said they'll change treatment accordingly and he should be waking up within the week." Rin said with a smile and Minato smiled as well, finally they were getting somewhere to solve the mystery of his sudden appearance.

"That's great news Rin. How long do you think until he is coherent enough to get answers out of and send him home?" Minato asked but the smile slid from Rin's face slightly.

"The doctor said he probably won't be able to stay awake for more than a few minutes each day for a while since he had so much damage but by what I can see he should be awake and aware enough within three to four weeks of rest and completing his treatment." Rin answered and Minato nodded, feeling a little lighter over the whole situation.

"That's great. Thanks for coming right over to report Rin, I really appreciate it. Kakashi should be getting off duty soon as well… Maybe you should go to the gates and tell him the great news, I'm sure it will make his day." Minato said, standing up with Rin and leading her to the door and after a quick good bye, she was running across the rooftops again towards the gates to meet Kakashi and tell him the news.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi's team landed at the gate to find another ANBU team there already waiting to take over. With a nod from both of the captains, the second group headed out and Kakashi's team scattered to go home after a silent good night. He slid his mask off and placed it into his pouch.

"Kakashi." Rin's voice called for him to wait before taking off home and she jumped down in front of him with a warm smile to greet him with. "Welcome back, how was duty?" She asked as they began to walk down the streets together… It had become a slight habit for them, Rin would wait for him to come back with his team and then he would walk her home before going home for the rest of the night.

"It was the usual… Running around in circles. How was your hospital shift?" Kakashi asked, not expecting any specific news, running a hand through his silver hair tiredly.

"It was great. It looks as though that kid will be waking up within the next week but he won't be fully coherent for a while so we'll have to be patient while he recovers." Rin said and Kakashi stopped dead in the street with surprise.

"That's… Great news. So he's going to be okay then?" He asked, continuing on walking and Rin could see his mind was a little at rest knowing he'll get possible answers soon.

"He'll be fine but it's going to take a while with his physical injuries being so drastic and such… Well thanks for walking me home. See you tomorrow?" She asked, hands clasped behind her back again with her usual smile and Kakashi sighed and smiled his usual eye smile.

"Sure. See you tomorrow Rin." He said, turning and walking away with a salute over his shoulder and hands going straight into his pockets while he heard Rin's house open and close with the usual locking sound afterwards. He hugged his red scarf closer to his neck as he breathed out a breath cloud of a sigh and headed home, feeling calmer after finding the kid the night before and not knowing shit about him but tonight he could sleep easy because soon he was going to get answers.

XXXXXXXXXX

Minato sat in his office early the next morning, feeling refreshed after a good night's sleep, signing paperwork with his usual vigour and at this rate he would be finished by lunch… If he didn't have any interruptions…

"Hokage-sama." A voice called and Minato sighed, this was the interruption he was talking about.

"Yes Kenju-san, what can I do for you this morning?" Minato asked the doctor standing there like he wanted to run and not be there right now so he gave him his best reassuring smile he could muster and gestured the man into his office and sit down in the chair on the other side of his desk.

"We have the test results from the remains the medic team managed to scrape up from the fire and… You're not going to like it." He said, already cringing into his seat but this caught Minato's attention and he sat up straighter with a serious expression.

"Go on. I can take it." Minato said calmly, taking a deep breath and waiting calmly, watching the doctor fiddle with pages in front of him and pulling out a specific one with lines on it, showing DNA they pulled up.

"We ran this through our blood DNA system of everyone in Konoha and we found three distinct matches from the entire data base. The smallest match with only three percent is a young man named Tenzo…" He began, swallowing harshly and sweating profusely and Minato waited calmly to hear the rest. There was no point in speculating with only a small portion of the information so he nodded for the man to carry on. "The second was most intriguing as it was thirty percent of the DNA is of one Uchiha Madara but there was a lot of organic DNA mixed in with it that took us hours to separate from the human DNA. And the last one with a staggering forty five percent match is of one Uchiha Obito." He finished quickly and backed away from the Hokage for a second.

"Kenju…" Minato said, surprisingly calm as he stared off into the left, blue eyes seeming blank with hundreds of thoughts and emotions behind it. "Please run the DNA against Senju Hashirama as well and bring me the results as soon as you have them. Dismissed." He said, eerily calm. Kenju scrambled to stand up and bowed hastily before all but running out of Minato's office. Were those results a joke? How was that even possible, both Obito and Madara are dead and to have Tenzo's results come up… But he couldn't dwell over that until he gets the results for the Shodai matching up to the DNA from the fire. Just what exactly was that kid fighting and why outside of Konoha's walls if he wasn't trying to stop it from entering the village?

"Hawk. Please show yourself." Minato spoke, standing up and putting his coat on as the Hawk masked ANBU jumped down and kneeled in front of the desk, awaiting orders. "Please find Sandaime and ask him to read over the results and to take over the paperwork for the day… I don't think I can focus on it right now." Minato said with a slight shaky edge to his voice as his hands shook, straightening out his coat as Hawk left silently to comply with the order. With a yellow flash, he was out of the office and in the training grounds, slamming a rasengan into the training posts with a scream of so many emotions, pain, sadness, anger, confusion… He didn't know what to feel but he felt he needed to do something before he broke down… That kid that Kakashi saved possibly killed Obito again and he wouldn't forgive him if that were the case… No, he'd kill him himself, he'd make sure of that as he slammed another rasengan into a pile of rocks.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto began to cry suddenly and Kushina looked up from her coffee she was having with Uchiha Mikoto, her best friend. Mikoto looked into the cot to find Sasuke squirming uncomfortably as well and looking like he was about to cry as well and she picked them both up and walked back over to the table where Kushina was sitting and took Naruto into her arms and tried to calm him down.

"Mom, what's wrong with Naruto and Sasuke?" Itachi asked, running inside as fast as his four-year-old legs would carry him from playing quietly outside.

"I'm not sure, they both suddenly became really unhappy and now we can't calm them down. Why don't you go and find your father and have the police force check out the village just in case, you know how Sasuke very rarely cries unless there is something going on." Mikoto asked her son as he nodded with a determined face and ran out of the house again to find Fugaku and Kushina laughed.

"He's going to be a serious shinobi one day with his skills already." Kushina said to her best friend as they smiled at each other before turning their attentions back to their crying babies.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi was startled awake by the serious chakra someone was pushing out. He looked down to see the boy still sleeping still but the heart monitor was beeping steadily and strong. He had fallen asleep yet again sitting by this kid's bedside and mentally scolded himself before gearing back up again and following the massive and angry chakra to the training grounds and snuck in carefully and quietly, watching for any sign of attack and such.

There was one last blast that shook the ground violently that it made the trees shake as leaves fell off and floated to the ground. The chakra vanished calmly as he proceeded closer to a dust cloud where the chakra was emitting from and hid in the trees patiently while the cloud vanished enough for him to see. There was a figure crouched or sitting on the floor as a wind came past and dissipated the clouds to see a very banged up Minato sitting there with his face set in an angry thought.

"Sensei… Is everything alright?" Kakashi called from his spot until Minato looked up calmly and Kakashi knew he could approach without being flat out attacked by the wound up man. He jumped out of the tree and landed on the rocky sand and walked over to his sensei slowly. His coat was gone and his standard jonin uniform had rips and tears through it with blood coming through some of them. His usual bright and sunny hair was dusted brown with some streaks of blood in it and he found that it must have come from his bloodied hands sitting in his lap. He stood in front of his sensei calmly as the man slowly stood up and took a deep breath and before Kakashi knew it, the man enveloped him in a bear hug, his body shaking that Kakashi took as a sign of him crying. Kakashi really wasn't good with these types of things as he sighed and awkwardly wrapped his arms around his sensei's back and patted him stiffly.

"There, there Sensei… let it all out." Kakashi said stiffly, parroting what Minato would normally say to him when he was upset. This was a time he wished he had Rin with him because she was the therapist of the group, being a girl and a medic she had experience with these types of things where Kakashi was the complete opposite. He was still trying to come to terms with letting himself feel again after Obito's dying words and it was awkward enough for him… He still didn't like touching people but this was his sensei and this is what he needs right now and so Kakashi will give it to him this once, hugging him a little tighter and allowing himself to relax a little in the embrace.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Kakashi ran to his Sensei's house, hoping Kushina would be there right then. Big Bull was following close behind with Minato on his back, fast asleep and still tatty from his all out destruction. He'd never seen Minato loose his composure, not even when Obito died and not even after Kakashi returned back to base from Kiri without Rin during the war. Minato had never once screamed or shouted at them, he did get angry but that was icing compared to the whole cake that Kakashi hoped he never saw in his entire lifetime… But for the always sunny Yondaime Hokage to look so disheartened and broken, this was some big news he had received that Kakashi was sure that the man would only react like this if one of his precious people died but he was hoping that nothing of the sort had happened.

"Hatake Kakashi, stop where you are." A familiar and stoic voice called harshly as Kakashi came to a stop on a rooftop and turned around to see Uchiha Fugaku and the Police Force and little Itachi with them, hiding behind his older cousin Shisui who was about twelve now that he thought about it.

"Fugaku-san. What can I do for you?" Kakashi asked calmly as Bull stood next to him with the passed out Minato on his back and then the situation dawned on Kakashi… This looked bad…

"Where are you taking the Hokage Kakashi-kun?" Fugaku asked and Kakashi reigned in his chakra from being called 'kun' and took a deep breath to explain.

"I felt massive chakra out in the training fields and so I followed it and found Minato-sensei in this state. I'm returning him home after he passed out Fugaku-san. You may send one of your force to accompany him home if you so wish but I better get him home to his wife and child sir." Kakashi said calmly, his uncovered eye showing boredom in its depths.

"Very well then. Shisui, take Itachi back with you since Mikoto is at his house already and escort Kakashi-kun and his ninken carrying the Hokage home. Carry on men." He said calmly as the crowd of police dispersed and Shisui stepped up next to Bull and Itachi on his back as he nodded to him and they carried on across the rooftops towards Minato's house.

"I apologise for the slight misunderstanding back there Kakashi-san." Shisui said, his head lowered slightly.

"Don't worry about it. I understand how everything looked back there." Kakashi said quickly as the air around them got awkward. Kakashi opened the house's door and let Bull in first as he followed with Shisui and Itachi still on his back. Kushina jumped out of her seat and ran over to Minato.

"What happened?" She asked with sheer panic as she put him on the couch with Bull and Shisui's help as Mikoto went to fetch a first aid kit from under the kitchen sink.

"He destroyed the one training ground and then when I approached him, he got me in a hug and began to cry. That's all I know before he passed out." Kakashi explained with a shrug, standing calmly with Shisui.

"Shisui, thanks for escorting them home. Could you go out and find Jiraiya-sama for us and bring him back here? That would help us out." Mikoto asked him, ruffling his hair as he ducked from her hand and fixed his hair.

"Sure Mikoto-sama. I'll be right back." Shisui said before he suishinned out in a poof of smoke. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this and smirked under his mask at the kid's talent before watching Kushina pull Minato's clothes off and clean him up with Mikoto's help. Itachi was outside playing with Bull and having fun by the sounds of it as Kakashi leaned against the wall with his shoulder and his arms crossed.

"Kakashi, can you please fetch Rin for us, she should be at home right now?" Kushina asked, not even looking at Kakashi as he stood up straight to go to Rin's house and bring a proper medic back for his sensei. He jumped onto her porch and rung the doorbell, waiting patiently when an older version of Rin opened the door with no war paint on.

"Sorry to bother you Nohara-san but can Rin come and help heal someone quickly, it's a little urgent but don't worry, his life isn't in danger." Kakashi said, waving his hand as he watched the panic suddenly rise in the woman's face before she took off through the house to find her daughter. "Ah civilians…" Kakashi mused, turning around to watch people walk by on the street.

"You need me to help heal someone?" Rin asked with a hard voice behind him. Kakashi turned around to see her standing there with her medical kit in hand and gave her an eye smile.

"Sure, at Sensei's house." He said, taking off with her behind him again back To Minato's house. He opened the door and let her through and she walked with business and knelt down next to the couch where Minato was still unconscious and Kakashi sighed. "If that's all, I'll be on my way, I've got a mission tonight." Kakashi said, waving a hand as he headed back out towards his apartment to get geared up for his mission.

XXXXXXXXXX

"God, I'm so sore." Tenzo whined behind his cat mask as Kakashi's team was heading back to Konoha after a four-day mission to take out a bunch of bandits on the trade route from the seaside of the Fire Country.

"Can it Tenzo, we're all sore now shut up." A brash girl's voice scolded him from behind a cheetah mask and Tenzo just whimpered slightly.

"Calm down Shizuka, we're almost there." Kakashi commanded his whining squad and he sighed. He was definitely sore as well and it was the D-rank of ANBU missions since his squad is all still new to ANBU and him been there the longest of one year. They made it to the gates and jumped down after taking their masks off and putting them away, walking slowly to the hospital to get their injuries fixed up and head home for a good shower.

They were each taken by a nurse to separate rooms to wait for a medic to come in and fix them up and Kakashi sat on the bed and waited with a sigh of relief as his muscles relaxed and he was off of his feet for the first time in two days.

"Hey Kakashi, rough mission?" Rin asked as she came in with a smile and closed the door behind her.

"Not too bad, I've had worse. Just some minor cuts and bruises and a little chakra left and my muscles are aching after walking and running for two days. How's the kid doing, has he woken up yet?" Kakashi asked as he stripped off his armour, shirt and gloves as Rin got to work on healing his injuries.

"No but his head has been turning slightly and his eyes fluttering like he wants to wake up but can't. We've cut down his pain medication and he's been moaning in pain but apart from that he's good." Rin said with concentration, healing a deep gash on Kakashi's arm.

"Why did you cut down his pain medication?" Kakashi asked, staring at the door calmly, thinking about a nice hot shower and his bed.

"We think it might be hindering him to wake up plus his wounds have healed exceptionally and Sensei said it should be alright by now…" Rin said, stepping back and Kakashi looked at her.

"Sensei?" Kakashi asked and Rin opened her mouth to talk again when the door was swung open violently.

"Rin-san, the kid, he's waking up." The nurse said, Rin looked back at Kakashi, both with wide eyes.

"I'll get sensei, you go and coax him to wake up." Kakashi said, throwing his shirt back on and heading out the window towards the Hokage's Tower. He jumped through the window and Minato turned to him with his usual smile. "No time for greetings and such Sensei, the kid is waking up." Kakashi said and Minato's expression hardened before he got up to follow Kakashi back out the window and back to the hospital where they walked fast down the corridors to the kid's room and stepped inside. The ANBU were waiting close by in the shadows and the doctor was waiting and watching his charts as Rin spoke softly to him, getting him to flutter his eyelids more violently each time as his face scrunched up, trying to force his eyes open.

With one last shaky breath from him, his eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing steely grey eyes watering with the bright light. Once his eyes were fully open, he began to look around panicky and confused as Minato stepped up next to Rin.

"Don't worry, you're safe. You're in Konoha's Hospital and you've been asleep for five days recovering from extreme wounds. Can you speak?" Minato asked calmly and carefully as the kid focused on him. He lifted his hand slowly and pulled off the oxygen mask shakily before letting his arm drop to the bed.

"Yes I can. Thank you for saving me." He whispered, his voice soft and unused for the past few days. Rin hovered her healing hands over his voice box and repaired any damage she could find before giving him a straw to sip water through. "That's better, thank you." He said, his voice sounding a little rough still but it was cool and calm, a little higher than Kakashi's voice.

"Can you tell us your name?" Rin asked him as she helped him to sit up slightly, he was in a better condition than they though he would be in, proving he is some sort of ninja by his stamina and healing abilities.

"I… I honestly can't remember… Hell I don't even remember how I got to Konoha and the Hospital in the first place." He said, scowling down at his bandaged hands and the band on his left arm.

"Tiger, fetch Inoichi for me quickly." Minato ordered the one ANBU in the corner who immediately left before he turned back to the boy. "What do you remember then?" He asked him calmly as Rin pulled up a chair for when Inoichi arrives but Minato took it for now.

"May I please know what your names are first?" He asked, looking at them calmly as he took deep breaths to keep himself calm.

"I'm Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha and these are my students: Nohara Rin, a medic who has been taking care of you with the doctors and nurses and Hatake Kakashi, he's the one who found you outside of Konoha's walls, on the brink of death. Now, what can you remember?" Minato asked, introducing each of them before getting back to business.

"I can't remember anything specific… It all just seems fuzzy right now but I can feel it in my heart that this band is important to me… I know stuff but I don't know how I know it." He tried to explain with furrowed brows but it was clear to see everything was muddled up in his brain right then.

"Okay then, calm down and relax. Do you know how old you are?" Minato asked in a calming and friendly voice. The boy swallowed and looked at each of them in the room before nodding hesitantly.

"I'm fourteen." He answered.

"Okay, so when is your birthday?" Minato asked next, starting to see if it's just his long or short-term memory lost.

" August sixth." He answered again, looking a little more confident.

"Do you have any shinobi training?"

"I… I think I do. I can tell there's more than just us in the room right now. And I want to stand up and find a kunai to defend myself. It seems like a natural reaction." He said with a shrug and Minato nodded.

"How would you hold this kunai?" He asked, handing the kid a normal kunai from his pouch. He looked at it and took it carefully from Minato, he flipped it over in his hand using his middle finger to catch the ring at the bottom and held his arm across his chest, the blade pointing out the bottom of his hand. His whole face and body language as well as handling the kunai told Minato a lot about the kid that he was most definitely a ninja and jonin if his experienced eyes are anything to go by.

His steely and focused eyes shifted to the door and the kunai flying through the air before anyone knew it, embedding itself into the door frame, inches from Inoichi's face. ANBU appeared and stood poised to attack while Minato, Kakashi and Rin stared with wide eyes and their jaws hanging open.

"Well if you didn't want to see me, you could have just left me down in the T&I department hiding from my wife." Inoichi muttered, taking the kunai out of the wall and holding it. "Nice aim kid, I'm Yamanaka Inoichi, nice to meet you." He said with a kind smile as the kid sunk lower into his bed with shame and embarrassment.


	4. Chapter 4

(Sings out of tune) It's the weekend BABY! So here's the next chapter thanks for those who have followed… I jumped up and down like a fan girl! .Just a little side note in case you get confused:

_Italic: _**Means it's a dream**

**Happy reading, please R&R**

Chapter four

Minato stood next to the door in the corridors while Kakashi and Rin sat on the chairs opposite the doors. Inoichi had been in there for twenty minutes already with the kid trying to determine his memory loss and what else he knew. The ANBU refused to move from the room but Inoichi asked if they could wait outside as they knew the most about the kid and it would make things harder for the techniques to work properly.

"Well the kid has long term memory loss, no genjutsu no mind traps, no nothing but fuzzy memories. He only remembers things that are hereditary like his age and training as a shinobi but I don't understand why he doesn't remember his name or anything about family or even where he came from, people with this type of memory loss normally can or at least remember a letter of their name or something that has a connection to their name or even their village. He's had quite a bit of mental damage being a shinobi… This kid's had it rough. Go easy on him Minato and maybe his memories will return." Inoichi said, stepping out of the room.

"Can we see him?" Rin asked hopeful.

"Well he's sleeping from the stress of not remembering but you can see him, just let the poor kid sleep. If that is all Minato, I'll take my leave?" Inoichi asked and Minato nodded and smiled at his old friend as he went back to the T&I department.

"Looks like we won't be getting answers after all." Kakashi sighed, looking up at the ceiling with his arms crossed.

"Yes, this is quite an annoying position to be in." Minato mused. "Well, I've got work to do, see you later Kakashi, Rin." Minato said, leaving with a smile and a flash of yellow.

"Coming Kakashi?" Rin asked him when she stood up and saw he made no move to stand up as well.

"You go on ahead, I'm going to go home and get some sleep for a while." Kakashi said yawning and standing up, heading for the exit. "See you around Rin."

XXXXXXXXXX

Rin sat peacefully next to the kid's bedside and decided to fix some of her clothes while she was sitting and waiting as she hand sewed the rips and tears closed. Using a special technique and chakra to bind them together to make the clothes look like new again otherwise all ninja would spend their pay on new clothes and uniforms each time.

She hummed a tune with a small smile on her lips as she sewed the fabric together. She was glad the kid was all right and awake but as for his memory loss, it really was a shame, it must be absolutely horrible not to know your own name and Rin frowned a little at the thought.

"You look prettier when you smile." A voice said and she looked to see the kid sitting up carefully with a crooked smile and Rin blushed and battled to keep a grin back.

"Um… Thank you." She giggled a little and put her smile back into place, putting the clothes aside for now.

"You're most welcome… Do you think I can take some of these bandages off now, they're a little uncomfortable?" He asked, pulling at the bandages on his arms already, taking some of them off.

"Sure, let me help you and place smaller bandages on the wounds you have left." Rin said, standing up and helping him with the bandage on his head, covering most of his head but the senses. Rin gasped as the last wrap of bandage came off and stared at his hair, springing back into place already and giggled a little and the kid smiled. "You're hair really is a midnight blue, it's amazing." She said and he cracked a crooked smile.

"Thank you Rin-san. And thank you for taking care of me, I really appreciate it." He said, Toulouse his hair with his hand as his bangs fell over his face and swept to the right of his face while he ran a hand up the back of his head as his hair pointed up and back behind him in perfect points from the longest at the top to the shortest at the bottom. (A/N: Imagine Soul eater but with his hair pointing back behind him, like Sasuke's, almost like a mixture, Soul's bangs with Sasuke's hair.)

"Um… I was wondering since you don't know your name… What do you want to be called by? For now, I mean." She said as he watched her with his steely gaze and an amused smirk.

"I don't know, I never really thought about it but I really don't mind… Do you have a name in mind?" He asked and she blushed and giggled again.

"Well I think Rei would be perfect, short for Reiji… You know 'Midnight' like your hair, easy to remember." Rin suggested and he smiled at her.

"Well then Rei it is. Hi Rin, my name's Rei and it's nice to officially meet you." He said with a grin and held out his hand towards her. Rin smiled and grabbed his hand in hers and they shook hands. His hands were so strong and softer than Kakashi's and so much warmer than her own as she was reluctant to let go. Pulling the stool back next to the bed, she sat down again and started fixing her clothes again as Rei laid back and closed his eyes. "Hey, can you hum again, it nice and soothing." Rei asked and Rin smiled before humming again and Rei sighed and relaxed back into bed again.

"_Chikara, do you understand what needs to be done?" A man in a Kiri ANBU masked asked him._

"_Yes Taicho. It shall be done." He found himself saying with a salute, looking through two slitted holes for his eyes as he headed down the dingy underground prisons. He looked around before running down the cold and heavy air tunnel for a room that held a prisoner he had to save to stop the war for good but he'd become a missing nin, this much he knew._

"_Hey… Konoha kunoichi, can you hear me?" He whispered through the grating, hearing the sobs of a girl not much older than he was._

"_Who's there?" Her voice came out a little shaky but determined._

"_I'm going to get you out of here but you have to trust me. Promise?" He asked, holding his gloved hand through the grating with his pinky out when he felt another pinky wrap around his own._

"_I… I promise just please let me get home." Her voice sobbed and he closed his eyes with anger… This war has to end now!_

Rei took a deep breath as he woke up and sat up at the same time. His head was pounding and the blanket was on the floor, explaining the cold in the dream but it felt too real to be a dream… Those emotions he felt were real. Was it some of his memory returning to him? Perhaps. But what sparred it on? He looked around the empty room to feel ANBU still sitting in the shadows and it looked to be about midnight already.

He took a deep breath and carefully swung his legs over the edge of the bed with minimal pain in his right side but bearable as he stepped off and stumbled to be caught by a pair of arms around his waist.

"You shouldn't be getting out of bed yet kid. You could have just asked." A familiar voice said, holding him up still around his waist.

"K… Kakashi-san? You're ANBU?" He asked with a slight smile and was pulled gently to stand up and come face-to-face with a ceramic white wolf mask in a snarling position.

"If you keep it a secret I'll say yes." Kakashi said and Rei could feel him laughing, an iron yet gentle grip around his waist still. Rei glared through the eyeholes, not liking to be seen as weak as he pushed Kakashi away and reached for the bed to hold him up.

"Don't mock me and my name's not 'kid' it's Rei… Rin gave it to me now can you please get me my blanket so I can go back to sleep?" Rei asked with annoyance as he sat gently back on his bed and Kakashi picked up his blanket.

"She's always the kind and caring one on the team." Kakashi mused as Rei lay back in bed and Kakashi effortlessly laid the blanket over him.

"And what does that make you, the team clown?" Rei asked but then the air became awkward and still.

"No… It makes me the stuck up know it all bastard… we lost the clown a year ago." Kakashi muttered with a stone voice before disappearing out of the room completely.

"Kakashi-san, wait…" Rei called and reached out but he was already gone. "I'm sorry." Rei muttered before falling back into a guilty and restless sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, I heard you gave the kid a name." Kakashi asked Rin, standing right behind her as she jumped and turned around in a flash with a hand to her heart, breathing heavily.

"Geez, Kakashi, you scared the shit out of me! Don't do that." She complained and she could see his shoulder's shaking from silent laughter. The hospital was quiet that early in the morning and Rin always liked to come in early and prepare for the day ahead.

"Sorry, couldn't resist." He said, clipping his chest armour off to hang loosely around his frame and rolled the gloves down past his elbows and loosening his red scarf he wore. "So Rei huh? Short for Reiji I presume?" He asked and Rin couldn't help the blush that dusted her cheeks rosy.

"Y-Yeah, he asked me for a suitable name and I just thought that with his hair it would be easy to remember and then we wouldn't have to call him kid, he's only a year younger than us." She said with a pout turning back to the table with her work on it only to come up to Kakashi sitting on the desk and on her papers, a mischievous glint to his eye as he hooked his heel on the edge of the desk, bringing his knee up.

"You think he's cute don't you?" He asked with amusement in his deep tone and Rin blushed further.

"N-No! Of coarse not… I, I'm just worried for his health and his memory loss." She spluttered and Kakashi smirked under his mask.

"Ma, does that mean I'm not the flavour of the week anymore? Bummer." He said with some fake hurt to his tone.

"I told you I don't like him." Rin said angrily and Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Please, you were interested in him since I told you he looks like me but with midnight blue hair and silver eyes. You've taken care of him since he came in plus you're denying it a little hard when your face gives everything away about you Rin." Kakashi said, waving his gloved finger in a circle around her face and snatched it away when she snapped at it.

"And who might Rin be interested in that isn't Kakashi?" A familiar and amused voice called and both teens froze and knew they had stepped into dangerous boundaries with papa bear Minato-sensei.

"Come on, we can have girl talk over it." Kushina said with excitement as Naruto babbled in her arms happily. The teens turned towards the faces stiffly and they were smiling, laced with sickly sweet poison.

"This is all your fault Kakashi." Rin whispered seriously as the happy family approached the teens with their eyes glinting with mischief.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

Rin couldn't take the silly blush off of her face as they all headed to Rei's room after Kakashi sang the stupid kissing song after explaining that they decided to call him Reiji but Rei for short and Kakashi suishinned for his life when the vein on Rin's head bulged out.

Kakashi came back when they started walking to Rei's room with Rin walking up ahead, Minato, Kushina and Naruto walking together behind her and Kakashi behind them for his life. Rin knocked on his door before sliding it open and peaking her head through to see him sitting up and reading a magazine, he turned to the noise and smiled at her a little.

"Hey Rei, you have a few visitors." Rin said with a smile, opening the door further to reveal Minato, Kushina and Naruto and Kakashi. Rei's eye widened and he sat up straight and bowed awkwardly sitting in his bed after putting the magazine down.

"Yondaime-sama, what an honour to see you again, please come in." Rei said, surprise evident in his voice. Minato smiled and walked in with his arm around Kushina's waist.

"Rei, I'd like you to meet my wife Uzumaki Kushina and my son Namikaze Naruto. Kushina this is the boy Kakashi found and we've decided to call him Reiji or Rei for short." Minato introduced them and Kushina grinned.

"Good to see you're all right after the state you were found in." Kushina said and Naruto babbled.

"Thank you and I am grateful to be alive right now even if I've lost my memories and it's lovely to meet you Kushina-sama and Naruto-kun." He said, waving at the kid who laughed and grinned with his gums.

"Oh please, just call me Kushina." She said with a small blush on her cheeks and waved her hand and Rei smiled.

"Okay then. So what do I owe this honour to, having so many visitors?" Rei asked, relaxing back into his bed a little, eyes already drooping with sleep.

"We won't take up much of your time however you will be getting out of the hospital soon and will need a place to stay. And it would be unfair to just throw you into jail when you haven't done anything." Minato mused with an evil glint to his eye and Rei shivered and swallowed. Kakashi snorted at that thought, leaning next to the door. "We're trying to find a jonin or at least a chunin to watch over you most of the time as well as close enough to Inoichi in case something happens with your memory."

"You see I would do it but I only have a one bedroom apartment and not even a couch for someone to sleep on plus I'm always away." Kakashi said off handed with a smirk behind his mask and Rei looked like he was glaring at him through his droopy eyes.

"He can stay with me. I'm sure my mom won't mind and it's in the civilian area so it's all calm for you to recover." Rin said with excitement and Kakashi rolled his eye, which no one saw. "I'm always in the village and the hospital anyway so I have the time to watch him plus I'm a jonin so it's perfect." She added at Minato's unsure gaze.

"Go on Minato, it can't hurt." Kushina grinned and winked at Rin who blushed. Minato just sighed in defeat he knew he wouldn't win against Kushina on this one.

"Very well then if it's okay with you Rei you'll be staying with Rin after we go and talk to her mother first." Minato said, turning and leaving with Kushina, Naruto and Rin after she grinned at Rei and waved goodbye, leaving Kakashi there again.

"A smooth talker huh?" Kakashi asked plainly and Rei just blinked.

"I'm just trying to be polite. For all I know I could have been sent here to cause trouble and I've done enough of that already… Besides you talk like I do anyway." Rei countered and Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Touché…" Kakashi laughed. "But remember this Rei. If you were sent here to cause trouble in Konoha, I will have no qualms about killing you myself so tread lightly." Kakashi warned before he suishinned out and Rei's eyebrow quirked.

"Says the one who saved me in the first place." Rei muttered to the empty room while settling down in bed again and drifting to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Minato finally sat at his desk with a long drawn out sigh. He didn't know what to do with Rei from now on since Rin's mom graciously took him in for the time being even when Minato warned her he didn't know when he would be able to leave. No information but an age and his possible skills as a shinobi, a clean and well trained slate but he couldn't just enrol a random person into the Ninja Corps in case he got his memory back, he'd have too much information on Konoha just by being a ninja.

He mentally face palmed for his break down the other day and for acting like he did… Especially hugging Kakashi after he didn't know how he got home. A lot of things came down hard on him that week with the early birth of Naruto and the test results coming up with a lot of Obito's DNA… But he had no solid proof that Rei killed Obito that night and his emotions had jumped ahead of him and he lashed out.

Kushina had been like an angel when he woke up and made sure he was coherent and awake before her hair flared, placing her hands on her hips with Itachi hiding behind Mikoto who also wasn't very impressed. Apparently she wasn't very impressed that Minato destroyed a training field and had everyone in Konoha cowering in fear… He had a lot of complaints the next day and each complaint he received Kushina was there to put ointment on one of his self imposed wounds… Not to mention how much he had to pay out of his own pocket to fix the training ground. He promised to himself and Kushina he'd be responsible and there would never be another next time and Minato sighed again as he stared down at the papers on his desk.

"You look like you could use a drink." A voice mocked from behind him to his left and Minato couldn't help the smile forming on his face as he turned to look at his old mentor.

"I could use some helpful information. Got anything interesting for me sensei?" Minato asked, hopeful there might be something, anything to go on with Rei.

"Unfortunately not Minato… But Sarutobi-sensei has all of his resources out there and my spy network as well trying to find any information on this kid." Jiraiya said and Minato groaned and dropped his face into his hands. "But…" He began and Minato looked up with interest. "I've found an interesting mercenary group I'm looking into that have apparently been used through the countries in the previous war that is more heartless than the other organisation I discovered called Akatsuki. It's still new to my sources but I'll keep my ears open for you." He said with a smile and Minato smiled back.

"Sounds interesting, keep me posted. At least it'll take my mind off of Rei." Minato said before turning back to his desk and began with the paperwork.

"Rei? Oh the kid, I heard it was given to him. So he has no memory at all?" Jiraiya asked, sitting on the couch off to the left of Minato.

"No memory but his age and his skills as a shinobi on instinct. It's a shame really that his skills will be going to waste in the meantime but I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place." Minato sighed once again, reading over a document.

"Perhaps you should let him keep training." Jiraiya said and Minato dropped his pen and looked up at his mentor like he was crazy. "Just listen… It could jog his memory quicker… They may be the more unpleasant memories but maybe the others will float back with them… Don't let his skills go to a complete waste either, give him some of the new genin D-rank missions so he can earn his keep… Under watch of coarse." Jiraiya continued and he could see the wheels turning in Minato's head and grinned to himself.

"That… may actually work. Sensei, you're a genius… Now all I have to do is work out a schedule and who can watch over him and it would be perfect." Minato said, writing on a scroll furiously while Jiraiya slipped out silently with a grin.

"Sensei… Oi, Minato-sensei!" Minato jolted up in his chair and didn't realise he had fallen asleep, grinning at Kakashi sheepishly. "You're not suppose to be sleeping there… That's what the couch is for." Kakashi said, eye smiling but Minato could see him grinning under the mask and holding a laugh in as he glared at his student.

"Brat… That's your place anyway." He said with a wave of his hand and Kakashi opened his eye and it softened for a second, bringing a smile to Minato's face.

"I use to lie there all the time away from my fan club now I'm just too busy…" He mused as he walked over to it and sat down, wiggling in it fondly, leaning back and looking more rested than he had in a while.

"So… Why'd you wake me from my nap?" Minato asked as he sorted out his desk and got back to work.

"What do you know about Rei and the whole incident?" Kakashi asked plane and serious and for a second time that day, Minato dropped his pen and leaned back in his chair. "And don't say nothing… There isn't much that can rattle you up so badly as the other day before my last mission… You know something else don't you?" Kakashi accused and Minato groaned and looked up at the ceiling. "You're a lousy liar sensei."

"Fine then but I cannot give you details as all we have to go on is the DNA we managed to scrape up from the fire Rei was found next to… We linked that DNA to four people in the village… Three are suppose to be dead, well technically they are dead and the other is related to one of the deceased plus he's well monitored and has alibis for that specific night and weeks before it." Minato explained and Kakashi soaked the information in, trying to slot it in with his teacher's breakdown. The only time Minato gets angry like that is when his loved ones are in danger… He looked into his blue eyes and saw pain being held in them as well as simmering anger and he knew exactly who it was as Minato only held a certain few loved ones, only one dying recently.

"Obito…" Kakashi allowed the name to ghost off of his lips and Minato stiffened, confirming it as Kakashi slumped back against the couch.

"I've sent ANBU out to locate and investigate Orochimaru since it was confirmed after he left he was looking into the Niidaime's reanimation jutsu… I thought we might get clues or some information as to why we found his DNA. Perhaps it was an experiment of his…" Minato said and Kakashi nodded, as it became deathly silent.

"Sensei." Kakashi spoke up softly after a while and Minato hummed to let him know he was listening. "Do you think it's possible… Obito might have survived after the landslide?" Kakashi asked hesitantly as Minato's eyes shot to Kakashi who was staring out the window across the room with his arms crossed.

"You said it yourself plus Rin said she checked while doing the eye transplant… Obito's right hand side was crushed and if that rock moved, he would have bled out quicker than he was already and died. There's no possible way he could have survived, not even Tsunade-sama would have been able to save him." Minato said, ending in a low and saddened voice, avoiding eye contact. Obito still is and always will be a sore topic for the team especially Kakashi and Minato, Kakashi had always considered that a failure of a mission and will for the rest of his life and his left eye will always be the reminder of it.

"So… Then whoever was in the fire wasn't Obito." Kakashi said sternly, standing up. "We'll just have to keep looking and hope Rei gets his memories back so we can see who that 'person' was and solve this case once and for all… I'll see you later sensei and don't stay too late, Kushina has been worrying about you." He said with a salute and suishinned away with a stunned Minato sitting there staring at the spot Kakashi was just in.

He couldn't believe what had just happened as he picked up his pen and smiled at himself as he worked. He knew Kakashi was always mature beyond his years but he was still young and always needed guidance and emotional support but today his student had swapped it all around.

He had just proven how much he had grown over the years of war kids like him have matured quicker which was a shame really but what could they do? It was the harsher realities of life. Kakashi had known them since his mother died and then his father and now his best friend, being trained as a shinobi genius since he could walk and comprehend, he had no need or time to just be a kid but he handled and still is handling it well.

Minato knew he could never fully understand Kakashi because his circumstances and pain throughout his life had been way different back then. He grew up not knowing his parents since his father had died before he was born and his mother died during childbirth, he wasn't forced to jump up the ranks quickly and could take his time to learn and comprehend things like seals and create his own jutsus that have saved countless lives and taken countless more but as a ninja you just have to endure and it seems like Kakashi had come to terms with it already… At the tender age of fifteen.

Minato leaned back in his chair and linked his hands across his stomach and smiled to himself, seeing as the sun was going down he should get home soon. His time teaching was fading like the setting sun and his student's time was rising to take their own students like his son in the next few years and that thought made him grin as he stood up and headed out the door, turning the lights off as he went home to his family waiting for him.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey guys! I'm feeling super special awesome today so I'm posting two chapters today! YAY! So here they are R&R Chapter six

Rei leaned his elbows on the windowsill of the hospital, bending over slightly and looking at the busy streets of Konoha and smiled. It had been one hell of a week after waking up and not remembering anything specific. He'd been resting most of the time and Rin had been visiting him a lot. He liked her, she was gentle and would answer any question you asked her but the thing he liked the most was she just kept talking. She would talk about anything and anyone and all Rei had to do was sit there and just make an agreeing noise or disagree with her every now and again. She was friendly and relatable to a point, easy to get along with as well and Rei didn't mind her presence.

Minato had visited as well as Kushina and their son Naruto. Kakashi had also been there but on ANBU watch once since Rei got accustomed to people's chakra quickly but he never said a word and just watched him silently from the shadows. He eluded Rei since that night he said something that hit him hard and Rei wanted to apologise but just didn't feel like it was enough and couldn't think of how to do it either. Sure he was a nice enough person as long as you knew how to take him as a person and lucky for Rei, he had no pre-misconceptions about the guy.

Rin had briefly talked about her team and the other teammate Obito, all she had said was that he died and that's when things changed. Rei felt horrible about not being able to relate to anything she told him but that night with Kakashi made sense now after Rin explained how the team use to be and such. He was mused out of his thoughts by a knock on his door so he stood up straight and turned around to see who it was.

"Hey Rei… I brought Kakashi along." Rin said with her usual smile as she dragged Kakashi in by the wrist and by his eye, he didn't look too impressed.

"Thanks Rin. It's good to see you again Kakashi-san." Rei said, walking around his bed and sitting on the edge.

"Likewise Rei-kun." Kakashi mocked and Rei's right eye twitched with annoyance, which lightened up Kakashi's day already. "Here's some clothes for you to wear, you look to be about the same size as me." Kakashi said, tossing a paper bag at Rei who caught it effortlessly and pulled out a black t-shirt and a pair of loose jeans and black sandals.

"Thanks. Are my papers filled out yet?" Rei asked, swinging the curtain around him to get dressed.

"Minato-sensei is busy with them at the moment. Everything's ready at my house, you have your own room and sensei's arranged it so you can do some training and small missions as well… Oh and you have a session with Inoichi-san every week so you won't be board around Konoha." Rin talked while Kakashi stood and watched out the window and Rei dressed.

"Sounds good but I won't be training for another week or so with my ribs still in repair and my right side still aches from that stab wound but I can't wait to do something again and it's only been a week of sleeping." Rei said, pulling the curtain back and smoothing out his shirt that looked way too big for him, sleeves going down to his elbows and hanging over his thighs slightly. The jeans were also a little big and baggy but Rei didn't seem to mind as he looked up and took a deep breath, fiddling with the band on his left arm.

"I think those may be a little big for you." Kakashi mused, thinking back to when he carried the kid to the hospital.

"My mom won't mind taking them in for you…" Rin began.

"No." He said out loud before looking down and clearing his voice. "I mean uh thank you but… They're kind of really comfortable. Thank you." He said with a little smile. Kakashi watched with interest at how much younger he seemed than fourteen and Rin was swooning over his shyness.

"Let's go find sensei then, he should be just about finished." Kakashi said, opening the door for all of them and following Rin down the halls of the hospital while Rei looked around with interest.

"Sensei, are you finished yet?" Rin whined as they were walking closer to Minato leaning over the counter still, writing furiously still.

"Almost, just a few more details… Those look a little big for you Rei." Minato commented, looking up quickly before turning back to the paperwork and Rei sighed.

"I like them like this so they're fine." Rei muttered, pulling at the hem of the shirt.

"Okay then. Here are all of your papers, come and see me when you want to start taking missions and when you want to start training so we can have someone supervising your training. Come to me if you need anything at all or Kakashi and Rin, see you around Rei." Minato said with a smile, handing him his papers and ruffling his hair before disappearing in a flash of yellow. Rei just blinked and began walking towards the doors, reading his papers. Kakashi and Rin shared a look before jogging to catch up to him saying he didn't know where he was going as he stuffed the papers into his back pockets and walked with hands in pockets as deep as the can go and his head lowered, a blank expression on his face as Rin and Kakashi walked on either side of him in confusion.

Rin watched him worriedly while Kakashi looked at him and then looked around to see people staring with mixed expressions on their faces, whispering behind their hands. He knew straight away this was a natural reaction, practised over years of being ostracized and by the looks of it, it had something to do with the metal band he wears around his left wrist by how concealed it was, his arm stiff in his pocket in case it accidentally flashed out. He stopped and turned suddenly and Rin and Kakashi followed his gaze to see Guy frozen by Rei's cold steely stare and Kakashi actually smirked under his mask.

"Relax… He's my rival. Oi Guy, stop staring and come over here." Kakashi called to the green clad man who put his exuberant expression back on his face and walked over with a bounce to his step.

"Kakashi, my eternal rival. Is this the poor lost stray you picked up?" Guy asked and held out his hand to Rei who shrunk back a little, glare still on his expressionless face as he looked at the hand then Guy's face and looked away with a 'hn' barely heard by anyone. Guy looked at Kakashi who shrugged and then Rin who just gave him a sad smile and looked at Rei.

"He is. Rei, this is Might Guy, I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of him." Rin said, trying to disperse the slight awkward atmosphere. Kakashi just watched Rei almost shut down right there and stare down to the ground on his right, hands still firmly stuck into his pockets.

"Perhaps we should get going. We'll have a challenge later Guy." Kakashi said, waving past his friend as Rei and Rin followed, smiling sheepishly past Guy who shouted excitedly after them before running off once again before Rin turned to Rei with annoyance.

"He's one of our friends, you could have at least said hello…"

"Rin." Kakashi warned and she looked up at him with confusion to meet his onyx eye and held back a flinch and faced forwards again. Kakashi had never looked at her like that before and it made her feel really bad. What had she done wrong?

XXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi sat watching the sun go down, sipping tea while watching Kushina feed Naruto and put him down for the evening. He had seen the same behaviour in Rei that he saw within himself just under ten years ago but how did he break out of such a rut after his father died from disgrace? It was quite obvious that band on Rei's arm was his problem and it isn't removable from him as the doctors and nurses found out when he first brought him in. Yet Rei still said that, that band was important to him… Maybe a reminder to himself like his left eye, one of disgrace and mistakes?

"Something must be really worrying you for you to come here, even pull down your mask in company and then ask for my special camomile tea. What's bothering you Kakashi?" Kushina asked, sitting at the dinning table across from him with her own tea. Kakashi stared down into it with both eyes open and sighed, swirling his tea around in his cup.

"It's Rei… He… " Kakashi began, scowling into his tea and Kushina waited patiently with a slight smile to her lips. "He's like I use to be… You know after my father died." Kakashi said, swallowing and looking up at her.

"I see…" Kushina said, sipping her tea. " Like Minato said to me, his body does things automatically without him realising what he's doing or why, am I correct?" She asked and Kakashi nodded, enjoying his tea. "So basically what you're saying is he's shrinking into himself, blocking people out and trying to go unnoticed?" She asked and Kakashi had wide eyes when he looked up but nodded tentatively.

"Was… Was I really like that… I mean I knew I blocked people out but all the other things?" Kakashi asked and Kushina smiled and nodded her head.

"You were always under the spotlight. Your father being the great White Fang of Konoha then you graduated at five, a chunin at six, jonin at thirteen and ANBU captain at fourteen now with the sharingan. The rules were drilled into your head as a chunin and you refused to see otherwise that all you needed was a friend until that fateful day… It's why you and Rin have stuck together since then." Kushina explained and she could see the wheels turning in his head.

"He has Rin now too." Kakashi smiled and Kushina nodded.

"But why do you think you also got closer to Guy since then? Sure Rin is and can be a great friend but sometimes they need someone of the same gender to relate to. Try introducing him to people your own age slowly and he'll get better… Sure you two have probably had similar experiences but he seems to trust you other than someone completely new and soon enough he'll come out of his shell like you did." Kushina explained and Kakashi nodded.

"I'm not really close to anyone else my age." Kakashi said and Kushina laughed.

"Please… Guy dragged you out to every party he went to and got you actually TALKING to the people you only saw for one year of academy. I'm sure once he's properly introduced to Guy, you can hand the socialising over to him and you'll be back to what you were doing before you know it." Kushina said and Kakashi flinched at the thought and then sighed down to his cold tea.

"Actually… He met Guy today and didn't take to kindly to him." Kakashi said a bit disheartened. "Even sensed him following before I did."

"You did the same thing remember? The first few times he challenged you, you completely ignored him, threw him out in some of the harshest ways that even I didn't want to cross your path on some days. Then with each challenge, something started to change and you two have become great friends and even better rivals… Rei could use someone like Guy and even you with his unsure path so don't worry, Rei's going to be alright whether he gets his memory back or not." Kushina said, ruffling his head that he ducked out of and smiled.

"Thanks Kushina." Kakashi whispered before finishing his tea with a smile.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rei got into the three quarter sized bed tentatively and lay down under the dark blue sheets and stared up at the white ceiling. It had been a rough and new day to him, even walking around the house and getting told to just do his own thing was odd for him but it infuriated him that he couldn't remember why he felt doing what he wanted was wrong… So many rules were running through his mind and he knew they weren't just common courtesy, don't socialise, don't bring attention to yourself, always be polite, don't do anything unless it's an order from your superior… He just knew that something had happened to him and he needed to know what before it drove him insane with frustration and annoyance.

He closed his eyes with a sigh and hoped some sort of sleep would come to him so he could get through a session with Inoichi without passing out again like last time.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven

"_One. Always follow orders from your superior. Two. Never bring any unwanted or necessary attention to yourself. Three. Get in and get out, do not make any unnecessary 'bonds' or you will be the one to die. Four. The mission comes first, not your 'friends' or comrades. Five. The success of the mission comes before anything else, including yourself. Six. Do not cry or whine, you were born as a tool and will act without emotion. Seven. Do not question your superiors or you have outlived your usefulness and like useless tools, you will be disposed of. Eight. Do not speak of your real purpose or anything about where you come from, you will die. Nine. You are serving the greater good of the shinobi world, act proper and proud. And Ten. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer… It'll get you further. The enemy of my enemy is my friend but remember, that's until you have both served your purpose, take them out first._

Rei sat up and clutched to his head, gritting his teeth. He now knew where those rules came from the day before and they all felt so natural, so drilled into his head. He knew in his heart that the man standing there explaining the rules was his superior and he could feel physical pain when he thought about disobeying those rules, like a stabbing pain to his chest. His head was throbbing and his body had a thin sheen of sweat to it, he could also hear his heart beating faster and his breathing faster than usual from the dream/memory. He took a deep breath and scratched at his bare torso as he swung his body out of bed carefully and headed out of his room, down the halls towards the bathroom.

He closed and locked the door behind him as he turned the shower on and began to slip off his pants, waiting for the water to heat up. He really wasn't in the mood to see Inoichi today but he knew that the blonde man could help him deal with the sudden and unpleasant memories resurfacing. The hot water was running across his scarred body, releasing the tension away from his back, neck and shoulders and he silently sighed before grabbing the soap and washing the night's sweat away.

He headed downstairs wearing a pair of navy blue track pant, sitting low on his hips, showing his washboard abs off while towelling his dark hair. His body felt overheated after the dream and the shower he had as well. Even though Konoha didn't have HOT weather, it was still way to warm for him and as his memories come back, maybe he'll know why he prefers cool weather.

"Good morning Nohara-san." Rei greeted Rin's mom who smiled at him, standing in the kitchen with an apron on and holding a frying pan, making pancakes.

"Morning Rei kun, how did you sleep? And how many times have I asked you to call me by my name?" She said with an embarrassed smile as she turned back to the stove and Rei sat at the bar like counter by the kitchen, hanging his towel over his shoulders.

"I slept fine thank you and I prefer to call you Nohara-san because it's respectful and you're being so hospitable, it's the least I can do. Where's Rin this morning?" He asked, not hearing any other movement in the house and pouring himself some orange juice when they were placed on the counter for him.

"She's out training this morning since working at the hospital takes up most of her time these days… The war has given her a lifetime of working the ninja side of things. Now all she wants to do is heal and help people out on the field so she's taken up a lot of studying to become as good as one of the Legendary Sannin named Tsunade who was the top medic here in Konoha until her little brother died and she left." She explained and Rei nodded, that name sounded familiar.

"I see… She's made a good choice. She's a gentle and nice girl and I'm glad she's found her passion in the world of shinobi. Will she be back in time to take me to Inoichi-san?" Rei asked as some pancakes were laid in front of him and he began eating slowly with a knife and fork.

"She should be back in the next few minutes, then she'll shower and take you through to him for your appointment." She said, sitting down and joining him in eating silently.

XXXXXXXXXX

By the end of his session Rei had rings under his eyes and was hunched over and Inoichi worried he pushed it too far already. The two specific dreams he had were definitely memories by the feel of them inside his mind and he tried to coax more out but they just ended up with Rei screaming like a shinobi in his Torture and Interrogation Department and he was glad that's where they were right then as he rubbed at his temples, watching the boy across the small table from him.

There was a coded knock on the door before it opened and Inoichi let a silent sigh escape his lips as soon as he saw the blonde Hokage, poking his head through the door with worry on his face. Inoichi got up slowly and headed over to the door before stepping outside and closing the door quietly and facing the Hokage's not impressed face.

"Rin said he had been screaming blue murder for the last hour. What have you been doing to him?" Minato demanded in a hushed hiss and Inoichi flinched, Minato was pissed.

"Two unpleasant memories have returned to him through some experiences here while being awake and I was showing him scenarios to try to coax more out but each time he screamed as if in physical pain… I fear there may be some sort of jutsu on him partially preventing his memories returning but I cannot find it. I've tried everything from standard protocol to some of my clan's special jutsus but I can't find the problem anywhere." Inoichi explained and Minato scowled further, crossing his arms, looking down at the floor.

"I see… So he'll only regain his memory through experiences?" Minato asked and Inoichi nodded while Minato closed his eyes and sighed. "Is there anything else you can do?" Minato asked and Inoichi sighed this time.

"Nothing but help him reliving his memories as they come and search for the blockage. He's on his own this time but by the speed his memories are resurfacing, I give him half a year to regain at least a quarter of his memories and to keep giving him new things do to." Inoichi explained as he saw Rin walking up with worry.

"Is he okay?" She asked, holding her hands together, up by her chest, worry glinting in her brown eyes.

"He's fine Rin, just tired after the stressful session. Inoichi was trying to gauge the reason for his memory loss and it was a little more painful than it should have been. You should take him straight home and let him rest." Minato suggested before they turned to the door to see Rei leaning up against it, his one arm raised above his head that was supporting him against the doorframe. Rin saw him and ran over, giving him a good and comforting hug that he gave back with one arm, wanting to glare at Inoichi but his eyes seemed like dull silver and held emptiness.

"I hope that my screaming didn't pull you out of your important work Yondaime-sama." Rei asked, his voice sounding like he was about to loose it and barely above a whisper, holding Rin in a hug still around her waist.

"No. No you didn't Rei. I needed a break anyway so I'll escort you back home and Rin can heal your voice box then you need to get some rest." Minato said, gently ruffling Rei's hair and he cracked a small smile as Rin pulled back from the hug with some red around her eyes and he frowned and softened his eyes at her.

"I'd rather go somewhere quiet to meditate for a while. Care to recommend any quiet places Hokage-sama?" He asked Minato with a slight smile once again, his arm still around Rin's waist as she wiped at her eyes as inconspicuously as possible.

"Sure. There's the top of Hokage Mountain there or one of the training grounds but I don't want to see you training just yet. Take the doctor's advice about holding off for another few days at least and remember if you need anything, come and see me." Minato said, smiling back at the kid and in a flash of yellow, he was gone and Rei furrowed his eyebrows.

"Hiraishin?" He asked Rin as they began walking out of the department while he kept his arm around her in comfort and in case he wasn't as strong as he thinks.

"Yeah… You remember something?" She asked, sniffing and leaning into him a little.

"Probably just public information. It's a time-space jutsu with seals created by Minato himself and almost single handed, winning the previous war with it based on the suishin jutsu and his other technique called the rasengan also created by him, the only shinobi to ever have an order in the bingo book to run when you came up against him… Quite amusing really once you get to know the guy." He said with an amused smile, watching up ahead while they walked.

"Why do you say that?" Rin asked with her usual smile back.

"He's one of the nicest people I could ever imagine, every country needs a guy like him as their leader." He said, smiling at her and she blushed but grinned back.

"He's fierce on the battlefield though. How do you think you were on the battlefield?" Rin asked and she could see the instant frustration and confusion in his eyes and on his face. "I shouldn't have asked." She said, frowning at the ground before he snapped out of his stupor.

"No, it's alright, I would like to know too… Minato-sama seemed surprised when he passed me that kunai just over a week ago and so I can't wait to get back to training and maybe a few missions like I think my old life use to be." He said as they walked into training ground 7 and Rei looked around.

"This is my old team's training ground. You'll be training here a lot unless it's been booked by another team in advance which is rare since it's nicknamed 'The Hokage's Training Grounds'… All the previous Hokage's have taught their students here since the village was founded and it's been a tradition passed from student to teacher." Rin said excitedly, breaking contact with Rei to twirl around in the open space towards the lake.

"Right so I better take my training seriously then." Rei joked and Rin laughed as he headed over to the three training stumps, sitting with his back against the middle one, placing his hands into the ram seal and closed his eyes to begin his meditation while Rin did some training of her own deeper in the woods so she didn't put him off.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Dozing off again Minato?" Jiraiya joked as he jumped through Minato's office window. Minato jerked up from sleeping on his arms at his desk, sending papers flying across the room and he sighed as Jiraiya laughed and sat down in the old and faded red couch.

"It's been a long day so far sensei." Minato groaned as he got up to fetch his papers on the floor all around the office.

"Oh? And what's ruffled our great Hokage so early on this beautiful morning?" Jiraiya asked, waving his hand outside and Minato just glared at him before turning back to the papers on the floor.

"Naruto's been up all night with a fever and huge chakra wavering throughout the village, keeping most of the jonin awake and of coarse complaining this morning to me. Of coarse this has put Kushina in a bad mood as well so I haven't even eaten yet. Rei had a bad reaction to Inoichi's treatment so I had to rush over there as well and Kakashi has gone off on a really tough mission." Minato said, dumping the papers on his desk before collapsing back in his chair and rubbing at his tired forehead.

"Oh the joys of being a father and beloved sensei." Jiraya laughed and Minato released some killing intent at his teacher who laughed harder.

"Shut up sensei you don't know the half of it…" Minato growled out and Jiraiya regained his composure, becoming serious once again and Minato followed suit.

"I have some interesting new on that organisation I've been researching…" Jiraiya began and Minato could see the anger that was boiling below Jiraiya's surface.

"And?" Minato asked reluctantly with strain, watching his old mentor carefully.

"It's an organisation that uses kids as tools from the time they can walk until they are teens and start questioning their actions…" Jiraiya said, letting some anger flood into his growling voice and Minato stiffened waiting for him to continue. "They use them to give them new warriors and then dispose of them." Jiraiya ended and Minato's table was split in half by a rasengan by the end of Jiraiya's words and paper fluttered gently to the floor once again, around the table split in half with a seething Minato standing over it and his expression unreadable.


	8. Chapter 8

Wazzup?! Yeah I think I'm over tired anyway, here's the next chapter and hopefully I'll be posting the next one tomorrow like all my other stories… This is one of my favourite chapters (squeals low in her throat, nearly passing out) So here is it please read and review people, maybe I'll post two chapters tomorrow (winks) Chapter eight

Kakashi strolled back to Konoha with his team with a sigh of relief. The mission details had been wrong and in the good way, the smugglers were inexperienced and not very bright, easily dealt with taking the perfect amount of time and very little chakra. Though he did miss hot running water and a comfy bed but who wouldn't after sleeping on the cold hard floors for two weeks?

Shizuka and Kima had taken off ahead of them since they had a party to help out with if they returned early enough and at the moment it was just Kakashi and his eleven year old teammate Tenzo walking silently with him, admiring the woods since he was kept inside the village since being found alive out of sixty babies slaughtered when he was younger. Being experimented on must have been tough but he came out alive and with the wood style of the Shodai Hokage, he was definitely special since the wood style began to die out after Konoha's founding.

He was broken out of his musing by a huge and powerful chakra, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he and Tenzo shared a serious look and started to head towards it quickly but quietly in case it was an enemy. They were coming towards the training grounds when a flicker of lightning just missed them by an inch and they slowed down, drawing their katanas out and approached slowly and carefully, ducking behind trees in case a stray bolt of lightning went their way again.

The crackling of lightning was heard as they came up to the target practise area and Kakashi had to grab Tenzo's head and pull him down as huge bolts began to fly, almost an electric and robotic sound to it as wood targets were heard shattering and splinting off. They flinched closer to the ground at each large bolt passing over them and Kakashi signalled him to leopard crawl closer as they began crawling closer to the sound and massive chakra.

The base and power to it was making the ground underneath their stomachs vibrate as Kakashi's instinct told him to turn the other way and leave, that he stood very little chance if this was an enemy but he had to make sure. The least he could do was tell Tenzo to get help if it was an enemy and Kakashi could hold him off for a while. A small spark went past their noses as they flinched back, breathing a silent sigh of relief before they were being sat on and the chakra disappeared.

"What do you two think you're doing?" Minato asked from on top of them, sitting on Kakashi's back while his legs were resting across Tenzo.

"Sensei? What's going on? Was that your chakra?" Kakashi asked, twisting awkwardly on the ground to look up at him while Minato grinned down at him.

"I wish it was my chakra besides I'm not lightning natured anyway unlike you." He said, staring back at where the chakra was coming from again as the feeling began on Kakashi's neck again and he followed Minato's gaze as Lightning began shooting past them and Minato sat there quietly while also holding the other two down. Kakashi watched as Lightning came straight for his face and then detoured around him but he could swear he felt something cold touch him at the exact moment it split off. It was a sound more frightening than Chidori or even any other high-powered lightning attacks yet it was making a tune in a sort of a way as it wavered past them.

"Had enough yet scaring the boys?" Minato asked with a slight laugh towards where the lightning came from as the lightning faded and the chakra dropped once again.

"Is it safe to look yet?" Tenzo cried and they both looked to see his hands clasped behind his head and his face buried into the ground and Kakashi smirked while Minato laughed.

"Yes Tenzo, it's perfectly safe." Minato added as he looked up from the ground carefully and Minato out right laughed at the boy. He had made a mask out of wood with just eyeholes in slitted rectangles as it faded back into the ground.

"What the hell Sensei! We could have died!" Kakashi said out in anger as he flipped the man off onto his back and stood up, dusting the mud off of his previously white chest armour and black uniform.

"Do you really believe I would have let that happen with me around? Besides it's the training grounds, it's where people come to practise, you two were actually in the wrong here." Minato scolded with amusement and Kakashi growled and was tempted to push the man back down again as he stood up and then he noticed he wasn't wearing his coat like usual but only his uniform.

"You've been training someone? Who?" Kakashi asked with surprise and nearly missed Tenzo's goodbye before he suishinned out.

"I'm only watching over him until Rin comes back from her mission… Hey where do you think you're going?" Minato called after Kakashi began making his way to the target practise area after he said 'watching' and 'Rin', giving it away right away.

"Kakashi-san." Rei said, sitting on the huge rock in the middle of the target field as Kakashi emerged and he grinned.

"Rei-kun." He greeted back with an eye smile to match his grin under his mask. "That was your chakra?" Kakashi asked excitedly as he jumped up on the rock and sat down next to him.

"We've found that fighting and training is bringing his memories back quicker and clearer after Inoichi gave him something for the headaches he got from them." Minato explained, leaning against the rock now as he watched the two teens.

"So what have you found out?" Kakashi asked them, looking between them.

"I was a Kirigakure nin during the war and I sabotaged their plans nearing the end of the war… Explaining this band on my arm." Rei explained, fiddling with the band.

"As you know, all teams on Kiri's ANBU wear bands like that and are coloured to their teams but once a missing nin, they turn this black and are hard to hide and cannot be taken off but by their superior." Minato carried on.

"And I killed mine when my operation began but I can't remember anything after opening a door to a Konoha Kunoichi's cell door. These bands release a poison in them when they turn black and it removes the person's memory slowly, now explaining my memory loss." Rei explained sadly, looking at the rock in front of him.

"So technically… Why is he still here?" Kakashi asked and Minato nodded understanding the question.

"That's true but small glimpses of memories have been seen that say something else. He was never a full Kiri nin but belonged somewhere else entirely, he was just sent in there as a double spy." Minato explained and Kakashi nodded his head and looked at Rei.

"But the only way for him to be accepted into Kiri was if he had something they wanted…" Kakashi explained and Rei sighed as he fell back to lie down and look at the sky, his arms spread out besides him.

"Exactly. I have a special type of lightning style that was discovered through one of my least favourite memories." Rei said out, staring at the sky as Kakashi shifted so he was sitting, facing Rei's side now and Minato walked around to lean against the rock facing Kakashi.

"We've decided to call it the static style since it behaves more like static electricity." Minato explained as Rei sat back up again and grabbed Kakashi's wrist gently, took off the armour and the glove before forming a white form of what looked like his Raikiri and running it across his arm as he flinched and stiffened and opened his eye to see his arm unharmed but it did feel tingly and strangely cold like being shocked by static. "It won't harm anything biotic (Living) but it does do damage to abiotic (non-living) objects." Minato continued to explain as Rei ran the white lightning into the rock, cutting it like butter and Kakashi grinned under his mask.

"So that means you can make someone naked in just a few shots of that ability." Kakashi grinned before getting hit over the head by Minato.

"Kakashi, I swear if you've been reading Jiraiya's books again I will personally castrate you using my rasengan." Minato said, his right eye twitching with annoyance and the vein on his head beginning to show up. Kakashi held his hands up in front of him and eye smiled sheepishly in defeat.

"I guess I could…" Rei said with realisation as Kakashi noticed a mischievous spark in his silver eyes and he grinned under his mask. "Sorry Minato-sama, we've got to go, you know boy things to do." Rei said with a grin, grabbing Kakashi's wrist and running off with him back towards Konoha.

"I guess I'll be busy with complaints tomorrow…" Minato sighed as he flashed back to his office, wondering what mayhem his two favourite students would cause.

XXXXXXXXXX

"That's never going to work." Kakashi called from the shower.

"Of coarse it will, just believe me it'll work." Rei called from Kakashi's room as the water shut off and Kakashi dried off and wrapped a towel around his hips and proceeded back to his room.

"I still don't believe you, by the time we were half way with getting rid of their clothes, they would have realised something was going on, there's to much to cut too many times." Kakashi complained, hands on his hips as he entered his room to see Rei, lounging on his bed, do a double take at him and on the last time he stopped, stared and then there was a blush covering his cheeks.

"You um…" Rei began, swallowing while willing his brain to work. "Your mask." He finally choked out and pointed at Kakashi's face. Kakashi raised an eyebrow and reached one hand up to his uncovered face and also blushed, he'd never forgotten before with another person around but he cleared his throat and closed his eyes willing his uncalled for blush away and played it cool.

"Yeah well I'm so use to walking around my place without it that I must have just forgotten. Sorry if I made you wet your pants over seeing my face." Kakashi teased with a smirk and an arrogant shrug and Rei just seemed to blush brighter making Kakashi smirk further and headed over to his closet. "Anyway back to the plan, like I said there's too much to cut in such a small space of time." Kakashi said after pulling his shirt on and dropping the towel since he was already wearing boxers to find them both slip off of his skin and he was standing there naked. He shivered from both the feeling on the back of his neck and the cool white chakra wafting past him, slicing his clothes off at the seams perfectly and now lying in a pile on the floor. Kakashi turned his neck to find Rei the one smirking this time and his turn to blush red as his eyes swept up and down him slowly and Kakashi swallowed.

"You see… The wonders of shape manipulation." Rei said with a twinkle in his eye and smugness to his tone. Kakashi finally recovered to find a new pair of boxers and quickly shove them on.

"Bastard, you never said you could do that. It will make this plan a hell of a lot easier. Let's get to it." Kakashi said, pulling on his sleeveless shirt and standard issue pants, already heading out before Rei cleared his throat, Kakashi looked at him questioningly.

"Forgetting something Kakashi-san?" Rei asked, swirling a finger around his own face and Kakashi blinked before pulling his shirt up, covering his face with the attached mask and eye smiling at Rei.

"Thanks Rei-kun… Now let's get going I've been dying to get Minato-sensei back after his last little prank a while ago." Kakashi said with Rei following behind with a grin.


	9. Chapter 9

Morning! Afternoon or evening guys! This chapter is up right now thanks to Tsukiyo69 who has been an avid reader and for your reviews that make me smile every time and post faster. Enjoy guys R&R. Chapter nine

Kakashi and Rei sat up on the Hokage's mountain and watched the sunrise, grinning to themselves. There were screeched and screams all across Konoha from every gender and every age and it just made the teens grin wider and look through binoculars they brought with them to watch their masterpiece at hand.

"So what's the deal between you and Rin? I go away for two weeks to find you two are now dating?" Kakashi asked, looking through his binoculars and laughing at what he was seeing.

"Well she had a fight with her mom about a week back and I went up to check on her because I've never seen them talk like that to each other. I listened and reasoned with her and she was sitting up, red eyes all puffy and smiling a little when she leaned forwards, gripped my chin and planted her lips on mine and of coarse being the teenager I am, I responded and asked her out… Oh my god! Kakashi, look over there quickly!" Rei said, tapping Kakashi's shoulder and pointing to the right as they both replaced their binoculars on and were just about rolling on the ground with laughter if they could just tear their eyes away for one second.

There was one angry looking man walking down the street. He had pink spiky hair sticking up all over the place and wearing a green dress that went down to his shins since he was taller than what was suppose to fit a woman. He was stomping towards the Hokage's office with his fists balled tightly, you could see his knuckles go white from where they were sitting.

"I'm so glad we decided to leave Kushina's clothes in tact if what I've heard about the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero is true plus it made revenge on Minato that much sweeter because then he had to go into work wearing that green dress as well as his hair pink to deal with the complaints… Perfect man." Rei said, hi-fiving Kakashi before turning back to their binoculars to see people coming out in their towels to complain.

"I can't believe you talked me into leaving Rin's clothes in tact even though she's not here." Kakashi whined and Rei laughed, both still watching the angry people. "I swear, if you hurt her I will break your face, she's still my friend." Kakashi growled and Rei smiled.

"Gee, after I was so helpful in getting your sensei back after he dyed your uniform pink as Hokage and made it the new uniform colour for a week for everyone… I'm sure people are secretly thanking us after seeing the state he's in…" Rei said before he heard a serious and threatening growl from Kakashi and he sighed. "I'll do my best but I can't promise anything with my memories." He said truthfully, both looking at each other after pulling the binoculars away.

"Alright then I can't make the same promise about your face." Kakashi said, flicking his nose before he covered it with both hands and pouted.

"HATAKE KAKASHI AND REI, YOU TWO ARE BOTH IN BIG TROUBLE!" They froze when they heard Minato's voice ring out across the village and looked at each other before grinning.

"Take our little battle to the training ground to hide away from Minato-sama?" Rei asked and Kakashi nodded before grabbing his shirt and he suishinned them to the training grounds.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was noon before Minato had finished writing and filing the complaints away and finding the correct transformation jutsu for his head. It couldn't have been just plain hair dye when it came to Kakashi and Rei, no it was permanent and screwed up any transformation jutsu done on it until Minato tried a seal on the back of his neck and finally worked, putting his hair back to blonde until it grew long enough to cut out.

Kushina and a few other moms got together and kindly put everyone's clothes back together for free within four hours and now the village was back to working order, he could go and track down the two trouble makers and scare them to an inch of their lives.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi had thrown the last punch before Rei caught it and swept his legs out from under him but he was brought down with Kakashi and landed across his stomach, facing down.

"Stop breathing, it's hurting my shoulder." Rei complained tiredly, panting.

"Stop your shoulder from hurting, it's hurting my ribs." Kakashi whined before they both realised what he said and began laughing.

"That doesn't even make any sense." Rei laughed out and he felt Kakashi had stopped laughing.

"Um Rei… I don't think this was a good idea…" Kakashi said swallowing as a shadow of a man loomed up on them and they could feel doom creeping upon them slowly. Minato was grinning down at them like a Cheshire cat and Kakashi knew that didn't bode well for them as they both looked up at the man who was back to normal already.

"Bummer." Rei mused as they were picked up by the scruffs of their shirts and flashed away to their doom.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi sighed into the dark and dingy cell and wondered if the prank was worth it. Minato had flashed them into the T&I Department and chained them up by their wrists against a stone hard wall and now his wrists were chaffing and he had lost feeling in his hands. He looked over to Rei who's head was drooped down and he was sleeping, it made Kakashi's heart ach slightly at the thought of what he had endured to be able to sleep through being hung up like this.

Then again, Minato's torture was maddening and tiring as they found out who knows how long ago. Their shirts and shoes were removed and Minato had made a shadow clone then he grinned and whipped out a long white feather. They had been laughing for hours before they gave Minato the instructions on how to get rid of his hair dye after seeing it up close and laughing further, Rei had fallen asleep almost instantly afterwards. He found himself tracing each of his scars on his chest and torso with his eye and guessing where each one had come from when he saw a certain long and deep one running along his back when he twisted in his sleep slightly. He looked closer through his sharingan at the tip showing now on his left hip and wondered where it came from before his eyes widened… It was an old whip mark and Kakashi could see another coming over his right shoulder and to his collarbone and he frowned.

He was broken out of his dark thoughts when he heard a moan that turned into a whimper and looked at Rei's face to see it scrunched up in pain as he mumbled in his sleep. Kakashi began to panic when he saw him struggling in his bonds, making them cut into his wrists and he was bleeding heavier and heavier by the second as his muttering got louder and what seemed more angrier. His breathing picked up as he gasped it through his mouth and mutterings and his body was beginning to sweat with Goosebumps appearing where the droplets ran along his skin and mixing with his blood dripping down his body.

"I'M NOT YOUR TOOL!" He shouted out, eyes snapping open angrily as a flash of white lightning struck his bonds with a chinging sound and his body began falling to the floor but the dull thud of the floor never came as there was a flash of yellow to catch him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Minato smiled to himself now that his hair was fixed and he was back to doing work after leaving Rei and Kakashi a little 'caught up'.

"I see you finally got the pink out of your hair." Jiraiya said as he climbed through the window and stood calmly by the edge of his desk.

"Four hours of your famous tickle torture and they gave in… I just left them there for good measure." Minato said, smiling happily to himself.

"Who is 'they'? They did a pretty damn good and clean job if I say so myself." Jiraiya said and Minato smiled fondly.

"It was Rei and surprisingly Kakashi. I left them hanging in the T&I department for good measure." Minato answered with a wave of his hand but then he felt Jiraiya stiffen up next to him and he looked up to see his mentor looking like he had just seen a ghost.

"We need to get him out of there now!" Jiraiya stressed with slight anger and fear and Minato didn't even wait for an explanation as he flashed to them just in time to catch Rei falling from his bonds and Kakashi struggling in his.

XXXXXXXXXX

"_Why forty-five? You were such a good boy, why have you started questioning so early?" A man cried, emphasising his words with a whip to Rei's back as he let tears fall but bit his lip to keep from crying out. _

"_I told you I just wanted to know this one answer and I'd never talk again!" Rei cried out, his voice being higher with pain and his youth while the whipping continued and his fingernails dug into the palm of his hand as he pushed his face closer to the wall in front of him to hold back his cries, he knew he was pretty high off from the ground._

"_Never! Never ask questions, they poison your mind!" The man was out right sobbing as the stinging on Rei's back intensified. "Just a tool, never talk back. Just a tool, never talk back!" The man was chanting and Rei had had enough without answers and his chakra flared, the whipping coming to a stop as he turned his head and narrowed his eyes at the man behind him. His eyes as gleaming and deadly as a weapon flying for your heart as his chakra sparked out._

"_I'M NOT YOUR TOOL!" He shouted out, eyes snapping open angrily as a flash of white lightning struck his bonds with a chinging sound and his body began falling to the floor._

XXXXXXXXXX

"Sensei…" Kakashi said, eyes wide as he saw his teacher holding Rei with regret in his stone hard face that only a few people would see. "He was sleeping and mumbling something in his sleep before he began to struggle and he sliced the cuffs open." Kakashi explained quickly as Jiraiya came sauntering, not looking impressed.

"He's going to be okay Kakashi, he's just remembering a memory. Do you know what he was mumbling?" Minato asked, sitting on the ground with the kid resting between his legs and in his arms as his body shivered and shook, a cold sweat breaking out on his skin, head tossing from side to side and Kakashi landed on his feet as Jiraiya released him from the chains.

"He said something about not being a tool before his chakra lashed out but I couldn't hear what he was saying before that… Are all of his memories this painful?" Kakashi asked, his throat constricting at the thought.

"They are but he's usually in a bed at home so he just wakes up from them. We think that the poison that caused his memory loss makes him experience all the pain the memory holds and a little more, Inoichi tested the theory on his first session… This is all my fault, I should have remembered he wasn't normal and alright to just play around with." Minato said, brushing back Rei's sweaty midnight locks away from his forehead still furrowed in pain.

"It wasn't your fault Minato, you didn't know what I know and I should have come to you sooner instead of doing some research along the way." Jiraiya piped up, standing with his arms crossed and brows furrowed in concentration.

"Let's get back to my office and you can tell me what you know…" Minato said, standing up with Rei in his arms.

"You come too Kakashi, I think you should hear this." Jiraiya said, tossing Kakashi his shirt, shoes and Rei's clothes as well as they headed back up to Minato's office.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey Guys! I love you all! Okay thank you to everyone who has liked and followed this story so far: BeeBoo95, FrankSinatra24, hazdar19902000, AxCxP and miyako99. But especially to Tsukiyo69 who has left me lots of reviews, feuling me to continue with this story so here's the next chapter… Dum Dum Duuum! Things are getting serious :O**

**Chapter ten**

"As Minato already knows I've been investigating a high class organisation recently that had been used during the was as mercenaries for hire. A while ago I discovered that this group uses young children and train them from the time they can walk and send them in places as spies because who would imagine a child coming and assassinating you out in the open?" Jiraiya began, leaning against the windowsill across from the couch where Kakashi was sitting with Rei still passed out and sleeping with Minato's coat over him while he sat at his desk.

"I managed to infiltrate their camp a while back for a week and find out more about their operation and how it works. These kids are trained to ANBU standards by the time they're six and sent into the field, taught to not question but just to act like tools… Basically the perfect shinobi's and I've seen it work while I've been there…" Jiraiya continued with a saddened and slightly haunted expression while the other two listened intently.

"These kids are worked and they do their jobs properly according to ten rules they follow that I've written down for you." He said, tossing a scroll to Minato who scowled further as he read before tossing it over to Kakashi who read with the same expression.

"Surely these kids begin to question things though?" Minato asked and Jiraiya nodded and frowned further, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"They are trained like tools until they begin to question things, usually around the time of puberty and when tools become compromised they break and become useless and so they are disposed of… After bearing more children to fill their places." There was a crack and both heads turned to see Kakashi throw a Raikiri into the wall next to his head, they could both see a rage so huge shimmering in the depths of his dark eye and Jiraiya swallowed, knowing what came next would make the teen even angrier.

"There's more isn't there?" Minato asked, his voice also dark and angry as he linked his hands together, knuckles going white, as he rested them on his desk while he sat forward.

"Security was tight because a kid escaped three years ago and missions were cut down to get all of the children back into line and become the perfect tools again. His name was number forty-five and matches Rei's description perfectly… I strongly believe he was the kid who escaped those three years ago." Jiraiya sighed out with a frown and Minato also sighed sadly while Kakashi sat stiffly on the couch.

"And the white haired pervert is correct… I am number forty-five, I remember most of that time now." Rei said, voice surprisingly void of all emotion as he sat up, face saddened as he kept his gaze down.

"Rei… I'm so sorry." Jiraiya said as he stood up and slipped his shirt and shoes on and heading towards the door.

"Please Rei…" Kakashi began also standing up and reaching for him when he stopped dead. Rei had looked over his shoulder, eyes sharp like a weapon that dared for him to jump in his range of attack.

"I don't need your pity." He spat before leaving out the door and closing it again as Kakashi sat back down on the couch.

XXXXXXXXXX

Minato sighed silently to himself, leaning up against the guard hut by the gates. It had been a long week since Jiraiya came back with information on Rei and he hadn't ever acted the same since. Since Rin was out of the village, he had come to stay with them for the time being and it was okay in the beginning before the new information.

Rei would smile and play with Naruto while Minato and Kushina had a minute to themselves in the mornings before he had to get to work. He would either stay with Kushina and train in the garden while she was there or he'd come with Minato and do unimportant paperwork with him until lunch time where they'd go to Ichiraku's for lunch and pop home quickly for five minutes where he'd either go back to the office with him or stay there with Kushina.

Now he wouldn't even do anything without it practically being an order from him only. He found out Rei was ANBU class ninja in that camp and the best they had ever had until he asked one simple question… 'What is my real purpose here?' Minato had shivered when that question came out of the teens mouth, listening to Rei speak with Inoichi as they shifted through his memories since he was three all the way to eleven years old.

Rei had been trained to chunin level when he was three and took on information gathering until he was six where he had his first kill accidentally when a man caught onto him and turned on him in a dark and dingy alleyway and Rei was forced to defend himself, killing the man of thirty, a jonin ranked nin from Takigakure. He was praised for it and sent on more dangerous missions where he was forced to fight for his life each time, coming so close to death each time, becoming the perfect and heartless tool this organisation wanted.

He first asked this question when he was ten, coming back from taking out a camp of jonin and ANBU ranked ninja from Kumogakure, barely conscious and delirious from blood loss, kunai's and katanas sticking out of him. The weapons were removed and left to heal on their own with only enough medical attention to make sure he survived in an unsightly way, killing the question and his personality as his rank was pushed up and more training pushed onto him where his lightning was discovered and worked on.

What was interesting was the organisation's business during the end of the war. They were hired by the other organisation named Akatsuki to help protect Ame and kill all of those who dared to pass the boarders, explaining why Iwa only ever came through Kusagakure. Konoha was thrown into a mess since it was discovered from Rei's memories of his alliance with Hanzo of the Salamander to try to take Akatsuki down, loosing one of their members… Rei was there and participated in the whole thing between the two factions of Ame at the time, two kids named Konan and Nagato as well as their deceased leader and friend Yahiko versus Hanzo and Danzo with his ROOT.

Straight away, Danzo had been taken into custody and arrested with charges against Konoha, treason and sent to his death two days ago by Rei… Surprisingly it was Sarutobi Hiruzen's idea, loosing his last straw with his old 'friend' and gave the honour to Rei in a private matter witnessed by all clan heads. Jiraiya had gone off instantly to find his heart stricken students of Amegakure and discuss things from there after hearing they were dead a few years ago.

Akatsuki dropped off of the radar after the war a year later and Rei returned to his organisation with the same question but stronger conviction. Minato's blood boils each time he thinks about this, they chained him up and tried to whip the question out of him as he still had at least three years of use and then children but that was when Rei broke at the sobbing man and turned on him, killing him and running for days, perhaps months with the deep gashes across his back… That's where his memory cuts out once again.

Minato was snapped out of his musing when Rei finally shifted away from the gates and stood to see one tired team walking towards the gates. 'Act as you have been before she left and your secret will be safe.' Minato remembered ordering the boy half an hour ago before heading to the gates to await the arrival of Rin's team finally coming back from their mission they left for a month ago. Rei smiled but Minato could see how every move he made was thought out way before he acted on it but it seemed as though Rin hasn't seen the difference as she smiled and ran up to him.

Rei 'grinned' as she jumped into his arms and he picked her up around the waist to swing her around before putting her down, gripping her chin lightly and pressing his lips against hers as her cheeks went bright red but she leaned into the kiss. Minato noted that Rei had seemed to grow while Rin had been away since he was now ten centimetres taller than her compared to being the same height.

"I put him back into your care Rin. Take care Rei." Minato said cryptically as he pushed himself up from the guard hut and headed back towards the tower with a frown. One student was safe and sound now he wished Kakashi would stop with his missions all the time, never stopping when he gets back. He's been avoiding Minato as well as all of his friends after speaking with a worried Guy who carried Kakashi to the hospital when he saw his rival passed out in the training grounds, practically dying but before Minato could talk to him, he was out and off on another mission again and wondered how the hell he was getting them so quickly and frequently.

Minato made a detour as his tired feet carried him fasted for what his body said he needed right then, his mind running hundreds of kilometres per second of how he could possibly make this all right again, back to when Rei first woke up before he remembered who or rather what he was. He entered through a door and didn't even bother to take off his shoes as he headed into the kitchen to bury his face in a crook of a neck, wrapping his arms around the familiar waist as she stiffened for a second before relaxing again, continuing with her cooking.

"You should be at work." She chuckled and Minato sighed into her neck before lifting his head and she turned in his arms to examine his tired face.

"I don't think I could concentrate now even if I tried. I'm failing my team again Kushina and I don't know how to fix it or get it back to the way it was before." Minato said, rubbing her cheek with his thumb and she smiled up at him.

"Maybe you should put them all together on a mission to sort it all out… Even if it has to be a made up mission, just as long as it's long enough for the fights to come out and fix themselves." Kushina said grinning up at her husband and he smiled and shook his head.

"You're evil Kushina… But that's why I love you." He said, kissing her lips before he was gone in a flash of yellow to begin his plans of fixing relationships.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi jumped over the rooftops in his regular bloody uniform, trying not to look around. This is the first time in a while his mind has been clear of missions as he headed to hand his report in and get his next mission so he didn't have to think.

He couldn't help but see himself in Rei's place when he heard of the organisation he originally came from. Trained as a warrior since he was young, jumping up the ranks quickly only to be met with tragedy and follow the shinobi rules until he questioned his ways when Obito snapped him out of it only to find it was too late… He should have died that day like Rei was suppose to but they both, Rei and Obito, sacrificed everything to do what was right and Kakashi felt sick to his stomach every time he thought about it.

He hopped through the ANBU mission's window to be restrained by chakra chains and come face to face with a grinning Kushina, Naruto and Minato and Kakashi glared at them.

"I've got a special mission for you Kakashi and you need the break while I try to figure out how you got so many missions in such a short time." Minato said and Kakashi growled in his throat.

"Fangirls… You should get some to do your paperwork." Kakashi said before the back of his head met a frying pan, denting it and bringing tears to his eyes thanks to Kushina.

"What the hell! I'm fine with doing missions sensei plus Konoha is short on people but you want to take me off missions?" Kakashi complained angrily and Minato grinned scarily, making Kakashi cringe.

"I'm not taking you off of them, I'm giving you an easier one like time off but with work to it. You're leaving tomorrow morning for a month and will be meeting your other two teammates at the gates five am not a second later Kakashi or I will come and hunt you down." Minato warned before the chains were removed from him and the devil family left in a flash of yellow and Kakashi growled while the rest of ANBU laughed silently at him, knowing he had been taking on too many missions lately and wondered when the Hokage would step in.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Hope you're spending it with someone special, boyfriend/girlfriend or not, no one should be alone today… Except me… BUT at least I have my loyal computer, internet connection and my three dear doggies looking after me so I'm feeling especially excited today so I'll post two chapters just for you. Please Read and review I'd love to hear from my loyal fans.**

**Chapter eleven**

The air around the three-man cell was awkward and stiff especially between Kakashi and Rei and Rin wanted to know why. They had been walking towards the boarder line of the Fire country and the Hot Springs country to do a D-rank mission to fix the place up and Rin couldn't take the awkward air anymore between her best friend and boyfriend.

"What is up between you two?" She complained, walking behind Kakashi and next to Rei who had his hands in his loose pockets.

"Nothing." Rei said calmly and Rin huffed and crossed her arms.

"Don't say nothing to me, my eyesight works perfectly well and so does my senses and right now the air is tight between you two so tell me so we can finish this mission and go home like an accomplished team." Rin almost yelled, making the group come to a stop as Kakashi turned around to stand quietly in front of the fuming girl.

"Rei gained most of his memory back when you were away and it was a little off putting." Kakashi explained with some strain to his voice and Rin nodded, noting it was strain of regret and pain.

"Rei, how does your memory coming back make you feel?" Rin asked, secretly sniggering to herself about being a psychologist as well as a doctor.

"Useless and used. I believe that Kakashi blames himself in some way and wants to push his pity onto me… Minato-sama told me your story as a team with Uchiha Obito… I feel out of place as I live with most of my memory now and it's difficult as my story haunts me as smaller fragments come to me." Rei explained stiffly, staring at the ground and Kakashi stepped up top him and gripped his shoulders.

"I do not pity you Rei and we're okay with you knowing our hellish past because it's made us who we are now. Obito taught me not to live just as a tool but to fight for what I believe in… I'm sure Minato-sensei and Rin have told you of how I acted a few years ago and our stories are so similar yet so very different at the same time that it struck me hard. I live with the guilt everyday knowing that Obito died because of my own selfish choices when you never got the choice. Rei, I…" Kakashi carried on rambling before his shoulders were grabbed and he was pulling into Rei for a tight hug that he strangely returned back with as much vigour and emotion as he allowed his defences to fall for just a few seconds. He closed his eyes, wrapped his arms tightly around Rei and placed his chin on his shoulder, breathing a sigh now that the awkward air was gone.

Rin was smiling and grinning now that things seemed to sort themselves out and was even happier to see Kakashi relaxing into the embrace and hugging him back. There was definitely a special type of bond between the two guys even when Kakashi had just brought him in from outside the walls and dying in his arms, almost like thread tying them together for some odd reason and Rin furrowed her brows at the thought.

"Alright guys, stop man hugging and let's get going." Rin said, amusement to her voice as both sets of eyes flew open and they just about pushed each other away from them and smiled easily at each other before setting on their way to their mission.

XXXXXXXXXX

The hot spring wasn't too bad looking but it did need some basic renovations done to it as they were given a tour around the place by an elderly lady who had lots of spunk left in her and a wicked sense of humour that even had Kakashi and Rei cracking a laugh now and again before being shown to their rooms for the night and their stay there. Himiko, the elderly lady said it was improper for boys and girls to share so she put Kakashi and Rei together, giving Rin her own room and Rei smiled at the old lady in amusement but accepted it as they turned in for the night.

"Hey Kakashi, why do you take on so many missions?" Rei asked, lying in his futon with his hands clasped behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

"Obito's dream was to become Hokage one day and he gave up his life and his dream for me to take on that responsibility to protect the village. My left eye is a gift from Obito, his sharingan, and I feel like I should use it to it's maximum usage to achieve his dream for him and when I'm off duty for a long time and out of action, it itches and I have to train or fight to get rid of it… It's really odd in a way, almost telling me to get my lazy ass into gear." Kakashi laughed at the end and Rei smiled.

"So what are you going to do on a long term mission with no action like this one?" Rei asked, amusement to his voice that Kakashi could hear the grin as his heart sped up, thinking of having a proper spar with Rei once again.

"Well there's always you to punch my frustrations out on Rei-kun." Kakashi teased and Rei snorted.

"Please, last time we were evenly matched, what makes you think anything would be any different now a month or so later?" Rei asked smugly, rolling on his side to face Kakashi, secretly challenging him with his eyes glinting in the moonlight flooding into their room.

"Well then let's make it an experiment… Which is better? Being stuck in the village training all the time or going out on high ranked missions? Deal?" Kakashi asked, holding out his hand and Rei reached forwards and shook on it.

"Deal… Just let me know when and where… Night." Rei said grinning at the challenge, taking his hand back, rolling over and snuggling down as Kakashi did the same and fell asleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rin had woken up and gotten right to work, tying her hair back and wore an old pink t-shirt and jean overalls that she had when she was in therapy from being kidnapped back in Kirigakure near the end of the war. She got to painting the main rooms and sealing cracks in the walls as she went along, walking along the walls to make things easier. She was painting along the corridors some time near mid morning when she heard an argument going on somewhere outside and followed the noise to one of the hot springs that had to be repaired during their mission there.

"No… Aw come on… Kakashi, a little help here?" She heard Rei complain and Kakashi laugh.

"No, you're on your own." Kakashi laughed out as Rin opened the sliding door to see what they were talking about. Rin nearly freaked out when she saw Rei wrestling the giant bear lying in the empty hot spring before she began to laugh at the lazy bear just grunting at the efforts Rei did to move it out. Kakashi was sitting in the tree watching with amusement as Rin stood there and leaned against the doorframe, watching Rei trying to mover the giant bear taken root there.

"What are you two doing anyway?" Rin asked up to Kakashi as Rei tried rolling the bear out only to be sucked under him and trapped there, flailing with his arms and crying animatedly.

"We were fixing the spring when the bear came strolling out of the woods and Rei decided to 'talk' to the bear." Kakashi said and Rin nodded her head with an amused smirk as Rei managed to escape the crushing bear and stood with his hands on his hips. Rin decided right then she would take a break as she took in the appreciative view of the muscles shifting on Rei's back since he wasn't wearing a shirt and really low ridding navy blue tracksuit pants. She looked up in the tree where Kakashi was and he was wearing a sleeveless shirt with the mask attached and his standard issue pants and his hitai-ate slanted over his left eye like usual. Rei perked up and formed a hand seal where shadow clones popped up, about ten of them, and they began to lift the confused bear up and carried him into the forest where he came from and Rin laughed.

"Finally, he gets it." Kakashi said, jumping out of the tree and waited with Rin when the scent of blood hit his nose.

"Damn bear got a lucky shot." Rei snarled as he came out of the woods, holding a bloody upper arm and his chest bleeding as well as he walked over to Rin and sat on the step while Rin began to heal him and Kakashi was laughing at Rei.

"Shut up Kakashi, you're the one who wouldn't help me with the bear so stop laughing and fill the spring up." Rei muttered and Kakashi carried on laughing as he moved over to a lever and opened it up as the hot water began rushing into the spring. "Now check for leaks you lazy bastard." Rei shouted as Kakashi lounged against a tree, calming down his laughing as Rin was nearly finished with the healing.

"Is this all you've done this morning?" Rin asked and both of the guys bulked at her.

"ALL we've done?" Kakashi asked with annoyance as he was walking around the spring, looking for leaks. "Do you know how many leaks there were and how many water jutsus we used to find all of them, our chakra was so depleted we had to take a break just to gain our breath back… And that's saying something between the two of us." Kakashi complained as he sat down next to Rei and examined their hard work for the morning.

"Well it looks better than yesterday once you got rid of all the plant life taking over… I suppose that must have taken a lot of time…" Rin mused.

"One fireball jutsu and it was all gone." Rei said with a shrug now that Rin had finished healing him and Rin glared at him. "So what have you been doing this morning Rin?" Rei asked as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Filling cracks and painting the corridors of the Inn… So I guess we haven't done a lot this morning then?" Rin said sheepishly and Rei smiled as did Kakashi. "Let's gets get back to work then, I've got bed sheets to sew." Rin said standing up as did the other two.

"I've got a roof to fix for leaks." Rei said with a groan.

"Bathrooms and plumbing…" Kakashi said with a sigh as they all went to do their separate jobs.

XXXXXXXXXX

The sun was going down and Rin was finally finishing her last bed sheet when she heard a crash and shouting and jumped out of the way to see Rei crash through the roof and dangle through the hole he made upside down and Rin recovered, placing her kunai away and watching him spinning round and round.

"That was quite a spectacular entrance… Are you sure you're a ninja?" Rin laughed and Rei crossed his ankle over his knee, crossed his arms and pouted as he spun around.

"Yes, I am a ninja and a pretty good one to boot now if you don't mind, please can you stop me from spinning." Rei said, twisting his neck around to talk to Rin in the face as she just carried on grinning and silently laughing with a hand by her mouth so he couldn't see the smile. "Never mind, I'll just do it myself." Rei said as he took out two kunai with ninja wire attached and threw the kunai into the walls on either side of the room and he stopped spinning.

"See, you can help yourself when you have to." Rin laughed as she came face-to-face with him, or rather chin to forehead.

"Yeah but now I've just put new holes into the walls that I'll have to fix on my forever growing list of 'To Do'." He complained. Rin placed her hands on the sides of his face and stood on the balls of her feet and kissed him gently and deepened it when he began to nibble on her lips. Rei's hands let go of the wire and he also placed his hands on the sides of her face as he angled her face to deepen the kiss further… Little did they know they had an onlooker who left just as quietly as he came to see what the crash was.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter twelve**

Rei sat on the roof of the Inn over the new repaired piece that he fixed two weeks ago. He was waiting up for Kakashi, as the sun was busy going down because he finally wanted that 'experiment' after weeks of avoiding him and he wanted answers.

"So you did come… I was expecting you to chicken out." Kakashi said from the apex of the roof and Rei stood and turned around in one movement to find him standing there with his arms crossed and looking higher than thou.

"Of coarse I came, I've got a bone to pick with you so let's go." Rei said, jumping off onto a branch and carrying on into the forest for the battle and into a small clearing as they stood across from each other and faced each other.

"I'm sure my ninken would enjoy the bone." Kakashi said and Rei could see the smirk in his eyes.

"Not the type of bone I've got." Rei said as he moved fast to punch Kakashi but he blocked his arm to the side and jumped back as Rei advanced, making it a taijutsu battle. "You've been avoiding Rin and I. Why?" He asked straight out as they parted and jumped into the cover of the bushes and trees.

"Is that the bone you've got to pick? I thought it was something more serious than that." Kakashi said, using a ventriloquism jutsu to throw his voice so Rei couldn't pin point it. "I haven't been avoiding you, I've been giving you two time to yourselves… You know for your relationship."

"That's a lie and you know that." Rei said before moving to another spot, thinking he's found Kakashi. "You had no problem before as we got here then all of a sudden, you begin working through the night and sleeping during the day." Rei said as he pounced on Kakashi and they rolled apart after hitting the floor a little hard.

"It's more efficient." Kakashi stated as he began making hand seals and sent a fireball in Rei's direction and Rei followed the hand seals and created a water dragon to counter, making their playing field misty and Rei panicked but he didn't know why.

"That's bull and you know that, it doesn't make a difference." Rei said into the mist, wondering why his palms sweated and his voice shook.

"I'm a night owl, I fight and work better at night." Kakashi said using the ventriloquism jutsu again in the mist and Rei swallowed the lump in his throat.

"We're ninja, we adapt." Rei said before getting tackled from behind as he fought Kakashi back and tossed him over his shoulder as Kakashi rolled and stayed crouched on the ground.

"Fine then… I like my privacy and the peace and quiet that's all." Kakashi said, standing up and lowering his defence and holding his arms out slightly. Rei watched him and noticed that the way he said it seemed like the truth.

"Well… Can you at least come and work with us a little in the morning and we'll work a little later?" Rei asked, also straightening up. Kakashi examined his face and saw he was sincere about what he said. "Rin misses her teammate and I miss my friend… My one and only friend I've ever had, I don't want to loose that bond because of a differences." Rei asked, looking Kakashi straight in the eyes since he had his sharingan revealed.

"You know… You really are a softy Rei." Kakashi laughed. "But I understand and I'm sorry for avoiding you two. You want to carry on with our battle, we still need the conclusion to the experiment." Kakashi said holding his hand out to Rei who looked at him and gripped his hand only to throw him off balance and attack from behind for Kakashi to block him again.

"I'm not a softy damn you Kakashi!" Rei said with annoyed anger, realising what Kakashi said about him as he began a lightning jutsu and Kakashi countered and nullified it with his Raikiri and charged at him for Rei to block his hand and twist his wrist, sending him to the floor before Rei grinned and took off into the trees and left Kakashi to get up. Kakashi smiled as he stood up, massaging his wrist and looking in the direction Rei just ran and began deducing where he went.

"The Inn." Kakashi said, clicking his fingers on his sore wrist and began chasing after him through the trees where he could smell his scent, stronger than usual and furrowed his brows.

"_That's bull and you know that, it doesn't make a difference." _Kakashi remembered Rei saying and it was shaky 'The mist jutsu must have caused him to panic from his time in Kiri… Especially with the silent killing.' Kakashi thought with a shiver as he saw Rei up ahead and jumped one last time and grabbed him around his waist which Kakashi thought would send them toppling to the floor until they landed with a splash.

Both teens surfaced and dove onto the edge of the extremely hot hot spring, gasping for air and standing up, facing each other once again as Kakashi slipped down his mask to breath. Kakashi saw Rei freeze and stare and Kakashi dove for him again but Rei flipped back and threw him over with his feet as he flipped up onto his feet again and took off in the direction they had just come from.

Kakashi threw some kunai, which Rei deflected by twisting around during jumps and knocking them away with his own kunai before rapidly changing coarse and throwing kunai at Kakashi as he changed his coarse to match.

"You're quick to run away Rei-kun." Kakashi teased as he saw he was catching up.

"Yes but you're dumb enough to follow." Rei said as his shadow clone disappeared and Kakashi would have face palmed if he didn't have to avoid kunai shadow clones coming right from him on his right side in his blind spot. Kakashi grabbed onto a trunk and used his momentum to swing him away from the kunai. " A gift from your sensei." Rei said as he jumped down and tackled Kakashi off of the branch from behind. Kakashi twisted in Rei's grip to face him as he struggled to escape because Rei was going to land on him and it would be extremely painful and dangerous to land like he was right then. Rei twisted them in the air and threw Kakashi down faster while he threw a kunai with Ninja wire and stopped his fall and Kakashi was working fast to copy but wasn't fast enough as he was snagged in a spider web of ninja wire that just tightened the more he struggled.

He stopped as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he shivered as the cool white lightning ran past his skin through the wires and Kakashi just relaxed into the web and gave up.

"Nice trap Rei. You got me and I surrender before I shred all of my clothes off." Kakashi said to the left of him, turning his head to see the real Rei standing there and feeding the wire his chakra.

"Good choice Kakashi, I'll get you down in a second." Rei said, walking over the wire to stand over Kakashi on either side of him and he began to cut the wire in certain places. Kakashi watched with his sharingan and saw the weak points to the wire and how Rei was cutting it and grinned, luckily Rei didn't see. Once the wire loosened from around his waist, he was free and he sat up, tackling the surprised Rei, falling to the short distance to the ground as Kakashi held both of his wrists to the floor and pinned him down, sitting on his thighs and grinning down at him.

Rei couldn't believe it as he tried to struggle but Kakashi's grip was like iron once again like the first time he met him and he relaxed in his hold and looked up into Kakashi's grinning face. Kakashi lost his grin and smiled at him.

"I said I give up… I didn't say the experiment was finished and it seems like going on missions win." Kakashi said, finding Rei's eyes very interesting at the moment. The moon was reflecting into them, making them almost shine like actual silver and his hair was as dark as the night sky around it as it went quiet around them.

Rei wanted to say something about the experiment and how he cheated but found his words had died in his throat. Kakashi was staring right at him and the rough and calloused skin on his wrists was fine but his grip had begun to tighten slowly. Rei swallowed and blushed under the harsh scrutiny in the mismatched eyes as he saw the sharingan swirl slowly and interestingly as he saw some sort of emotion flash within them. The harsh red looked like murder but the dark grey was cool, inviting and _wanting_.

"You win this time." Rei whispered, making Kakashi's face inch closer as if to hear what he was saying. Kakashi didn't know what made him inch closer when he could hear perfectly fine as he stopped the movement in front of the red face of Rei 'Is he angry that I cheated?' Kakashi wondered as he took a deep breath and quickly released his wrists, keeping his hands against the skin sub consciously a little while longer before he was standing up and offering his hand down to Rei and pulling his mask back up.

"But next time we'll have a referee." Rei said in his usual voice with determination as he grabbed Kakashi's wrist and he hauled him up onto his feet.

"You're just a sore looser Rei." Kakashi mocked with an arrogant shrug as the usual playful atmosphere between the two appeared and Rei crossed his arms as they began walking back.

"That's because you DID cheat." Rei said and Kakashi laughed.

"Losers never prosper." Kakashi laughed out as they walked and Rei huffed.

"Don't you mean cheaters like um… I don't know… YOURSELF." Rei shouted and Kakashi laughed before running ahead.

"Race you back!" Kakashi shouted and Rei was stunned for a second before running after him.

"Cheater!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"_Chikara! You bastard!" He heard a voice shout from behind him, so close in the dense mist. He had stopped to let the two Konoha nin get away, he was a missing nin now anyway. He had his standard issue katana at the ready as his white band on his arm had faded to an ivory and he could feel the poison already entering his veins._

"_I did what I had to. This war has gone on long enough." He shouted back to the angry ANBU hot on his trail… There were at least fourteen of them and he swallowed as their killing intent leaked out. "Mizukage-sama had no right Kankaku-senpai and this war has to stop sometime… we've already murdered a whole village of innocent people. Uzushio had no military…"_

"_Enough! You've betrayed us now prepare to die for your treason Chikara." He knew that was Taicho's voice and he swallowed as blade met blade and created sparks of lightning from his katana._

_Taicho was the first to die and cursed Chikara on his dying breaths to never be accepted ever again. He didn't focus on who he was killing and didn't even realise the mist disperse until he slid his bloody katana out of the last body as it made a loud thump as it hit the floor_

_Chikara removed his bloody mask to reveal silver eyes and removed his bandanna to reveal midnight blue hair as he looked around at the massacre he had just done._

"_This is for the innocent in Uzushio we murdered." He said, sliding his katana into it's sheath on his right hip and breathed a deep breath as he could feel his memories slowly fading. He looked at the band that had gone a shade darker, closer to grey before a noise caught his attention and he looked up to see a white covered man with a white swirl covering his whole head and face, one red eye peaking out of the hole, swirling lazily with power and the ex-ANBU swallowed and held the handle of his katana tight, ready to draw it as the odd man walked slowly onto the field._

"_You saved some dear people to me but you've killed so many more… Prepare to die traitor!" The man yelled before launching at him with impossible speed and knocking the air from his ribs as he skidded along the bloody floor and stopped against a body, coughing for air._

"_Who… Who are you?" The ex-ANBU coughed out as the man walked calmly up to him and grabbed him by the scruff of his uniform, holding him up face to face._

"_I might as well tell you since you won't live after this… My name is Uch…"_

**A/N: Yeah didn't expect that little cliff hanger did you :D anyway remember to leave reviews and maybe I'll have the next chapter up by tomorrow. I love you all!**


	13. Chapter 13

**HELLO! I hope everyone had a happy valentines day and enjoyed the double chapter I posted… Even if it was a cliff hanger (laughs evilly in her brooding corner… Yes, I have a brooding corner) Enjoy the next chapter as the friends begin to piece everything together.**

**Chapter thirteen**

"Shhh Rei, it's all right. Come on, wake up." Rin's voice called softly with worry, stroking her hands through Rei's midnight hair while Kakashi paced the room quietly with worry.

Rei gasped like he had been hit in the chest and carried on gasping as he clawed at his chest for air and Rin held his hand so he didn't hurt himself and wanted to cry. She'd never seen him have such a violent reaction to a memory before and she thought he had most of it back.

"Uchi gah!" Rei gasped out, eyes snapping open as he rolled off of Rin's lap and onto his elbow to the side. His eyes were wide with fear as he gasped for air and tried to cool his over heated body down, trying to get his breathing under control.

Kakashi had ended his pacing at the words Rei gasped out that sounded strangely like Uchiha. Why did he say a name like that, one he had probably not heard of yet it had such an effect on him with a memory… What had happened and when?

"You okay Rei?" Kakashi asked him as he snapped out of his musing and got on his haunches in front of him, one hand on his upper arm as he was just panting for air now and his eyes had relaxed a little bit. "Come on soldier focus." Kakashi said harshly which snapped him out as Rei slapped his hand away and looked up at him.

"I'm fine… Just a memory of Kiri… And another man that appeared suddenly but I didn't catch his name before I woke up." Rei said, sitting up and gathering Rin in his lap and hugging her close as Kakashi sat down in front of him.

"You said 'Uch' before you woke up. Jog any memories?" Kakashi asked with furrowed brows as he could see Rei sorting through his memories in his reflective eyes before he shook his head slowly and looked back up at Kakashi.

"No… God this is so frustrating. I'm so close to finding out how I came to Konoha but yet so far away." Rei hissed out in frustration as Rin ran a hand through his head and hugged him closer. Kakashi reached out to his friend and grasped his wrist gently.

"It'll come Rei. You've done well within nearly four months and what you've remembered so far is a real accomplishment, just hold on a little longer." Kakashi said and Rei nodded, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against Rin's shoulder with a sigh.

"Thanks you two. It means a lot to me." Rei whispered and Rin smiled and Kakashi tightened his hold on Rei's wrist a little.

"Let's not do anything today. We've got more than enough time to finish everything so let's go to the spar and relax a little. Himiko-san said we could have a day off." Kakashi said and Rin raised an eyebrow and smiled at him.

"Sound's good. I'm not feeling to well today anyway and I'm sure the hot spring would cure it." Rei muttered tiredly, clearing his throat.

"I'll see you two later then and Kakashi, look after Rei." Rin said, gently detaching herself from Rei and heading out towards the female side of the Inn while the two guys headed to their side of the Inn towards the hot spring.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I don't think jumping into the boiling hot water last night and then running again was such a good idea." Kakashi said with sympathy for his friend as Rei sunk up to his nose in the water, eyes looking dull and tired with a face cloth sitting on top of his head. Rei just shook his head and closed his eyes, resting into the water a little before sitting up against the wall and slinging his arms over the rocks behind him.

"What do you know about the sharingan?" Rei asked suddenly, looking up at the sky dazily and Kakashi could see he was getting a little fevered.

"It's a dojutsu belonging to the Uchiha clan that can copy any ninjutsu it sees only once and can follow movement better than any normal eye can. Do you remember something about it?" Kakashi asked inconspicuously and Rei frowned.

"The white man in my memory had one… Only one poking through the white swirl on his face but it was different somehow and I was wondering if there were other forms to it." Rei said and Kakashi stiffened up, he must have seen the mangekyo sharingan he learned about after rescuing Rin from Kiri.

"There's only one other known form called the mangekyo… I can show you if you want." Kakashi said, swimming over to him and sitting in the water in front of him and Rei seemed interested as Kakashi held the ram seal to focus his chakra. Kakashi opened his left eye and Rei looked into it before his eyes went wide and he was on the other side of the hot spring in a flash and Kakashi lost the dojutsu and closed his eye again. Kakashi called into the steamy area when he heard a shuddering breath. Kakashi got out and wrapped a towel around him and followed the shuddering breathing to find Rei curled up in a corner, head buried in his arms and his knees pulled up to his chest.

"Stay away from me!" Rei cried out as Kakashi tried to reach out for him but Rei had snapped his head up and Kakashi could see the fear and confusion in his eyes and sighed. Rei had a full on fever now and Kakashi knew not to do anything but fetch Rin and maybe put him into bed for the rest of the day. He tossed Rei's towel to him as he headed out and across the Inn to the girl's side and knocked on the sliding door heading to the bath.

"Who's there?" Rin called and Kakashi could hear her moving around probably to fetch a towel.

"It's me Rin. Rei isn't feeling well and he freaked out when I showed him my mangekyo sharingan. Can you come and check on him?" Kakashi asked and the door slid open.

"I'll be right there, I'm going to dress first… What happened?" Rin asked as Kakashi exited the room and stood next to the closed door.

"He asked me about the sharingan so I explained to him the abilities and then he asked me about another form and I showed him my mangekyo, you know you're the only one I've told anyone about it." Kakashi stressed and the door opened again with Rin dressed as they headed down the corridor.

"So he freaked when he saw it. Part of his memory?" Rin asked and Kakashi shrugged.

"How? Obito's dead and I've never shown him before now… Then there's how he woke up this morning, almost saying 'Uchiha'." Kakashi said in a low voice and Rin's face became concerned as she entered the hot spring.

"Do you think an Uchiha's involved in this somehow?" Rin asked in a whisper as she headed over to the shuddering breaths she could hear. Kakashi just nodded as they approached Rei who had wrapped the towel around his hips and Rin bent down to check his fever while Kakashi stayed back. He watched with his arms crossed as Rin talked comforting things to him as her green glowing hands roamed over Rei and he nodded before Rin pinched his neck and he passed out.

"Get dressed, I can treat him better back in the room." Rin instructed as Kakashi nodded, got dressed and carried Rei in his arms back to the room for Rin to treat him properly.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rei opened his eyes with a scowl to see two lumps of brown and blue lying next to him. He blinked his eyes and rubbed them to see it was two dogs of two different shades of brown with blue coats on with a heno-heno-moheji on the back of them. The smaller pug woke up and blinked his wrinkly face at him before picking up his head and looking at the other dog that had the kanji for shinobi on it's head.

"Oi Bisuke, fetch the boss and Rin. The kid's finally awake." The pug said with a deep and gruff voice. The other dog huffed as it got up, stretched and headed out the door cracked open slightly.

"Hey, you must be one of Kakashi's ninken he mentioned." Rei said sleepily as the pug sat up and examined him.

"It's good to see you awake Rei-kun. My name is Pakkun, leader of the bosses pack and the other as you know is Bisuke. How are you feeling?" Pakkun asked as Rei patted him experimentally and then scratched behind his ear when he found out Pakkun wasn't going to bite him.

"Just tired. What's happened since I passed out?" Rei asked the pug who leaned into his hand a little.

"You've been sleeping for two days with an extremely high fever but Rin has been treating you and you pulled out of your fever last night, she said it had been coming on for a while now… Boss is on his way." Pakkun said, stepping back as Rin rushed in and sat down and Kakashi hovered by the door unsure.

"Come in Kakashi." Rei said calmly as he watched his friend fight internally before giving in and sitting down on the other side of his futon as Rin took his hand in hers.

"How are you?" Kakashi asked looking a little unsure sitting there and watching Rei's face intently for any signs of panic.

"I'm fine and I'm sorry for freaking out on you, it was just a great shock to the memory I had." Rei said, smiling at him and Kakashi returned it with an eye smile.

"Can you explain to us why you freaked out about his eye?" Rin asked timidly and Rei squeezed her hand and nodded.

"His mangekyo sharingan as Kakashi called it was exactly like the man in my memory and since that memory caused so much pain to me, I think it came back ten fold and broke my fever out full blow in one shot." Rei explained and Rin and Kakashi shared a serious look before turning back to Rei.

"I'll be honest with you here Rei. I did a lot of inconspicuous studying into the sharingan when I discovered this new eye. It comes in many different shapes of the mangekyo sharingan and mine is paired with Obito's original so there's no way someone has the exact eye pattern unless they have Obito's eye." Kakashi explained with restrained anger but Rei knew it wasn't directed at him. He sat up with little assistance from his friends and drank down some water before closing his eyes with furrowed brows.

"It was just after killing the Kiri nin that he appeared to me. He was wearing some sort of body suit that covered his face in a swirl around his right eye that looked exactly like Kakashi's mangekyo sharingan and he said to me… 'You saved some dear people to me but you've killed so many more… Prepare to die traitor.' Those people I saved were from Konoha but I've never seen their faces. This Uchiha was close to these people and if I could just remember their faces then at least that's something connecting me to Konoha and this mangekyo." Rei said and all faces in the room had eyebrows furrowed with thought.

"But that doesn't make sense. Obito definitely died the day he was crushed and his sharingan should have deactivated as he died… Unless…" Rin began, her eyes getting wider with each word.

"Someone must have stolen Obito's other eye before he died officially." Kakashi hissed out in anger and both Pakkun and Bisuke cowered under Rei's blanket at Kakashi's killing intent.

"Then we'll just have to find that person or Uchiha who has his eye and take it back from him with my memory being the key… We'll figure this out Kakashi, I promise I will not let this person tarnish your friends name." Rei said determinedly and grabbed Kakashi's wrist like he had for Rei and Kakashi took deep breaths and calmed his intent down.

"Let's get back to work, we only have three days left before we leave. Rei, stay here and rest for the rest of the day and Pakkun and Bisuke will keep you company." Rin said, standing with Kakashi as they headed back out the door to finish their work.

**Alright so… They have figured things out a little dum dum duuummm! What do you think will happen next? Review please?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter fourteen**

The trio arrived back in Konoha and headed up to Minato's office to hand in their report and found the smiling Minato sitting and doing paperwork before he saw their faces and worried something went wrong with Kushina's plan.

"Welcome back you three. How did it go?" Minato asked, leaning back in his chair, linking his hands together and resting them on his stomach.

"The mission went perfectly sensei with a few bumps in the road but nothing serious." Rin said, handing the file over and Minato read through it, his face showing no emotion before he put the file down and sat back again.

"I wish to see Inoichi-san right away Minato-sama and I request to bring Kakashi and Rin with as well as you… Things are about to get stickier with my memory Hokage-sama." Rei said seriously and Minato tilted his head in confusion before nodding and standing up, heading out with the team to the T&I Department.

XXXXXXXXXX

Minato slumped in the chair with his hands in his hair, staring numbly at the table as Inoichi sat in another chair and rubbed his temples on the other side of the table and Rei sat in between them with Rin and Kakashi standing calmly behind him.

"But what if he…" Minato began.

"We've already been over this sensei. There was no way Obito survived for long after that." Rin stated harshly.

"Wait… Kiri? Rin, you said a Kirigakure ANBU helped you escape and find Kakashi where you fled with him… Let me get your file." Inoichi said quickly as he walked over to a cabinet and flicked through files in one of the draws, pulling one out with Rin's name on it. He opened the file and tossed papers about and Rei picked up one and began to shake as a memory wracked his body.

XXXXXXXXXX

"_What's your name?" Chikara asked the girl with brown hair, brown eyes and purple war paint on her cheeks that were streaked from tears._

"_Rin. Nohara Rin." She said shakily in an open door way as sirens rang all around them._

"_Okay Rin, I'm Chikara and I'm going to get you out of here like I promised. Hold my hand and don't let go, don't look behind you and don't stop running. Do you understand?" He asked as he took her hand and began to jog down the corridors with her._

"_I understand. Just get me back to my teammate." She said with determination but also some fear as Chikara began taking people out with lightning techniques as they entered a rocky terrain and hid for five seconds to catch their breaths._

"_How are you doing Rin?" Chikara asked her in barely a whisper and she squeezed his hand._

"_I'm fine. Right now I just want to get home." She said and Chikara nodded as he looked outside of the small cave they hid in. Chikara froze as he felt a blade against his throat before it was removed and he turned his head to find Rin hugging a silver haired boy with mismatching eyes of dark grey and red._

"_I'm guessing this is your teammate?" Chikara asked and she nodded._

"_Kakashi, this is Chikara, he helped me escape." Rin said quickly with more tears of happiness._

"_Helping, we're not out of the woods yet. Get ready to run." Chikara ordered and they both became serious again and crouched with him as he watched. They began to run again, dodging paper bombs, kunai and shuriken being thrown, showing just how close the enemy was._

"_They want me. Leave me here and escape you two." Rin said with fearful determination as she slowed down and both Chikara and Kakashi skidded to a stop._

"_We don't have time and if they get any one of you two, the war will carry on for at least another ten years. Let's keep moving and we'll cross that bridge when we get there." Chikara hissed and grabbed both of their wrists and began running again and eventually let Kakashi's wrist go but held onto Rin's because she was vital to this escape plan. They skidded to a halt again so close to the boarders it wasn't funny and they stood as a thick mist covered the area. Kakashi and Chikara were standing back to back with Rin in between as Kakashi charged up something that sounded like birds and Chikara unsheathed his standard issue katana._

_There was movement behind him and he felt Kakashi surge forwards but Rin also move quickly and realised what was happening as his body moved on its own. Rin stood with her eyes closed in front of Kakashi who's eyes were wide as he couldn't stop his jutsu but Rei was faster some how and grabbed Rin around the waist and twisted her out of the way, being grazed on his left hand side by the powerful and deadly lightning jutsu and fell with Rin onto the ground as Kakashi saw Rin had moved and intercepted the enemy they heard move._

_Chikara recovered as his katana met another one and Rin was also fighting now with another ANBU. Chikara disposed of his enemy quickly and moved to help Rin as Kakashi regrouped and looked at Chikara with surprise and looking for leadership and Chikara noticed the red eye had changed and knew what he had to do._

"_Use that jutsu to cut down a path and I'll hold them all here." Chikara said and Rin tried to protest but Kakashi knocked her out and placed her on his back in one movement. "I'm a dead man anyway now go and don't get caught Kakashi, I'm sure we'll meet again one day." Chikara said, pushing him to move as the bird jutsu started up again and Kakashi was gone as Chikara covered them._

"_Chikara! You bastard!" He heard a voice shout from behind him, so close in the dense mist. He had stopped to let the two Konoha nin get away, he was a missing nin now anyway. He had his standard issue katana at the ready as his white band on his arm had faded to an ivory and he could feel the poison already entering his veins._

"_I did what I had to. This war has gone on long enough." He shouted back to the angry ANBU hot on his trail… There were at least fourteen of them and he swallowed as their killing intent leaked out. "Mizukage-sama had no right Kankaku-senpai and this war has to stop sometime… we've already murdered a whole village of innocent people. Uzushio had no military…"_

"_Enough! You've betrayed us now prepare to die for your treason Chikara." He knew that was Taicho's voice and he swallowed as blade met blade and created sparks of lightning from his katana._

_Taicho was the first to die and cursed Chikara on his dying breaths to never be accepted ever again. He didn't focus on who he was killing and didn't even realise the mist disperse until he slid his bloody katana out of the last body as it made a loud thump as it hit the floor_

_Chikara removed his bloody mask to reveal silver eyes and removed his bandanna to reveal midnight blue hair as he looked around at the massacre he had just done._

"_This is for the innocent in Uzushio we murdered." He said, sliding his katana into it's sheath on his right hip and breathed a deep breath as he could feel his memories slowly fading._

XXXXXXXXXX

Inoichi had quickly connected himself and Minato to Rei's mind and watched Rei's memory come to him and follow through to the point where the white man showed up before all three of them opened their eyes and Rei looked back at the paper in his hands. It was the usual white ceramic of Kiri with a blue lightning shape cutting across the whole thing and Rei sighed and threw the paper with the rest.

"That was my Kirigakure ANBU mask… Codename Chikara." Rei said calmly as Minato and Inoichi were sitting stiffly in their chairs and Kakashi and Rin were dead quiet behind Rei.

"Lift up your shirt please." Kakashi whispered and stepped back with Rin. Rei stood up and turned to face the two looking onwards emotionlessly as Rei pulled up his shirt and showed a lightning patterned scar on his left side. He tried to put his shirt back down when Kakashi grabbed his wrist and his other hand was lightly tracing the scar with his fingertips, something in his eye as he examined every place his jutsu had cut through and across his skin.

"How… How did you survive?" Kakashi whispered and Rei shrugged.

"I don't know… Even if I lived to stop all of the ANBU, that white man should have killed me in that state." Rei whispered back as the group watched on. His shirt was put back down and he was engaged in a tight hug as Kakashi buried his eyes against the crook of his neck and sobbing was heard with 'thank you' becoming a chant. Rei stood still and breathed a shuddering breath before tears came to his eyes and he hugged Kakashi tightly back and cried silently with Kakashi. Rin wiped tears from her eyes when Rei saw and opened his arm up so she could join in and hugged both of them as she also cried silently and was telling Kakashi that everything was okay.

Inoichi watched on with shock but then he sighed and began writing things down in case one of them broke right there. Minato was frozen in his seat for a while after everything he had witnessed within the last god only knows hours. He watched the three of them hug when Rin joined in that's when the stone hard truth hit him. He could have lost not one but both of his last students that day and cold struck at his heart as he thought about the possibility if Rei wasn't there, he knew if that happened he wouldn't be Hokage right then and he allowed some tears of his own slip past, secretly thanking Rei and closed his eyes with a smile. He opened them again when he felt Inoichi's hand on his arm and squeezed reassuringly and he smiled at his old friend in thanks.

He watched as both Rin and Kakashi sagged in Rei's arms and Minato decided it was time for them to go home. He stood up and picked the sleeping Rin into his arms as Rei swung the tired and grumpy looking Kakashi onto his back with a smile. Minato touched Rei with his elbow and in a flash of yellow they ended up in his house and held a finger up to his lips when Kushina walked in who smiled and nodded, heading back into the kitchen.

"I'm going to take Rin home, you can go back now or later?" Minato asked in a whisper and Kakashi shifted on Rei's back.

"I'll go back later. Thank you Minato-sama." Rei said with a smile and Minato returned it as he flashed away again.

"Take him through to Naruto's room, your bed is still in there." Kushina whispered poking her head around the corner with a smile and Rei nodded and headed off that way to Naruto's room. He sat on the bed and unwrapped Kakashi's arms from around his neck and lay Kakashi down on the bed who was already nodding off. He took off his pouches, flak jacket, as he now wore the chunin uniform, and his shoes off before covering him with the blanket and removing his hitai-ate as he left the room and collapsed on the couch with a sigh and a smile as he thought the day's events over. Minato flashed back in and hung his coat and flak jacket up over the back of the couch before sitting next to Rei and pulling him into a big hug once again when Kushina appeared with a laughing Naruto in her arms as she joined them on the couch.

"So did my plan work?" Kushina asked with a smile to her voice as Minato's chest was currently obscuring Rei's view.

"Better than expected." Minato said calmly as he finally released Rei and sat back calmly, hugging his wife and kissing his son's head. "You remember when Rin was rescued from Kiri how she spoke of a heroic ANBU who saved both hers and Kakashi's lives named Chikara?" Minato asked as he tucked his wife into his side who nodded with a smile and his gaze turned back to Rei.

"Well… Meet Chikara, the one who saved my students' lives that day and some how made it out alive." Minato said as Kushina crushed him in an awkward hug with Minato in the middle, laughing as he began to explain what happened in Rei's memory.

**A/N: So… Happy Ending? Nope, not yet anyway but now we know the connection between the three friends but what's going to happen next? Read and Review to find out.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Yay now we know about the whole thing with Rei and Rin's rescue from Kiri during the war, explain why she's still alive. I can't believe this story is only half way through and thanks to all the followers and reviewers, it makes me happy to know people are reading this and enjoying this so far. And madara2 please explain more about your comment since Sasuke doesn't even appear in this story?**

**Chapter fifteen**

Rei jerked up from his sleep and then regretted it as he shut his eyes tight and held onto his throbbing temples, leaning up on his elbow. He slowly pried his silver eyes open and furrowed his brows in slight confusion before slowly remembering that he was in Minato's house, on his couch to be exact. He grabbed the blanket that was over him then loosened his grip on it because it was Minato's white coat with the red flames on it and he hung it gently back over the back of the couch and sat up, clutching his head once again with the movement.

"Rei, are you okay?" He heard Minato's voice ask as he opened his eyes to see him on his haunches in front of him. "Did you have another memory?" Minato asked with worry, putting a hand on his shoulder and rubbing his arm comfortingly.

"I'm okay Minato-sama, just a headache from the day before since I had that memory while I was awake I think." Rei said, massaging his temples and tried to give a reassuring smile.

"Do you want something for it?" Minato asked, standing up, looking a little relieved that he was okay.

"It'll wear off, just some water will be fine. Thank you Minato-sama." Rei said and Minato smiled with a slight nod and headed into the kitchen.

"Rei…" A voice called and his head whipped around to see Kakashi standing by the bedroom door, examining him with his right eye only open. There was something in that dark grey eye looking at him that froze him into place, it was open yet unreadable at the same time but it made something in Rei's throat tighten as he swallowed and Kakashi's eye followed the bobbing motion of his neck before his eye snapped up to meet the silver eyes again.

"Kakashi…" Rei said just above a whisper and Kakashi nodded and walked over to sit next to Rei stiffly on the couch. "How are you feeling?" Rei asked after a pregnant silence and swallowing to lubricate his voice.

"I've been better." Kakashi said, his voice slightly rough from crying the day before. "And you?" Kakashi asked, shifting slightly in his seat to face Rei and they finally looked at each other again.

"A little rough but I'm okay." Rei said as silence descended on them again, little did they know of the little blonde rat listening in. They avoided each other's gaze for a while until Kakashi looked at him again and Rei returned the look.

"Can I… Can I see that scar again?" Kakashi asked in barely a whisper, eyes wanting to break contact but couldn't. Rei tried to give a reassuring smile as he reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it up, revealing the lightning patterned scar once again. Kakashi shifted closer on his seat and reached his fingertips out slowly as they ghosted against Rei's skin but he stayed perfectly still and watched emotions pass over Kakashi's face.

XXXXXXXXXX

Back in the kitchen, Minato was watching the exchange intently and Kushina snuck up behind him, he jumped and held a hand to his heart and she grinned. He put a finger against his lips as he pointed to the lounge and they both looked around the wall like the ninja they are.

Minato was surprised at Kakashi's actions, as he had never seen him act so much like his age before and soaked in every moment. Minato could read so many of Kakashi's emotions knowing him for most of the teen's life, you know how to read the kid. But something made Minato gasp as Rei grabbed Kakashi's wrists and he looked up at Rei who seemed just as confused by his movement as Kakashi was. Rei's silver eyes matched the emotion's in Kakashi's dark grey eye so perfectly as Rei handled his wrists so gently, brushing his fingertips against the inside of them that barely a shiver was seen by Minato that shot through Kakashi's body like an electric shock.

Rei's eyes seemed to blank and then come back with warmth in them, following a smile and Minato could see the confusion in Kakashi's eyes. Rei reached one hand up to Kakashi's cheek, cupping it for a second before he moved it to the back of his neck.

"You'll always be important to me Kakashi." Rei said with a grin before he pulled Kakashi forwards into a hug and Kakashi closed his eyes and hugged back, leaning into the embrace easily.

Naruto hiccupped and began to cry in the kitchen as Kushina rushed over to the infant and Minato saw Rei and Kakashi break from the embrace and put some space in between them and sit calmly with slight smiles on their faces. Minato sighed and picked up the three glasses of water and walked into the lounge with a smile like nothing happened and handed the boys their water. He sat down in the armchair with his own water after handing the two teens theirs as he relaxed into the chair and decided work could wait for the day.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Come on Kakashi, you have to hold him at least once." Kushina whined but Kakashi sat defiantly on the couch with his arms crossed while Kushina held the giggling and squirming baby in her arms in front of him. Rei and Minato sat in their chairs with amusement, watching this unfold since they were both as stubborn as each other.

"Come on Kakashi, its really not that bad." Rei said, barely holding the laughter in his voice as Minato sniggered with amusement.

"Kakashi, I swear to god you better hold him or you'll die an early death today." Kushina growled, her hair flaring up slightly and Kakashi panicked and reached for the child and Kushina grinned with victory. She bent over and slid Naruto into Kakashi's arms gently, shifting them to give the baby the support he needs and Kakashi sat dead still, watching the wiggling and giggling baby in his arms.

"See, it's not that hard now is it?" Rei teased and Kakashi glared at him but Minato could see it was half hearted as he saw the twitch of Kakashi's lips under the mask before he looked back down to Naruto in his arms.

"Perhaps not…" Kakashi mused in a whisper and the three smiled at Kakashi as he relaxed his hold around Naruto and smiled down at the baby who was reaching up at Kakashi's mask. There was a knock at the door and all of them looked up meaning Naruto pulled Kakashi's mask down and laughed hysterically and clapping because he had pulled it down and Minato laughed all the way to the door while Kakashi pried the mask out of Naruto's hands and pulled it back up.

"Rin…" Rei said, making everyone look up at the timidly standing girl in the doorway with Minato standing behind her.

"Hey… Everyone. I hope I'm not intruding." Rin said and Kushina smiled at her.

"Of coarse not, Naruto would love the extra bit of attention." Kushina said, scooting up and dragging Kakashi along with Rei as Rin sat next to him on the edge of the couch and he wrapped his hand with hers and smiled at her.

"Well I think that now everyone's together, we should go out for lunch… My treat." Minato said grinning at his three smiling students and his grinning wife.

XXXXXXXXXX

Things fell into a routine easily and time began to flow easily with peace throughout the countries. Rei continued to stay with Rin and her mom, their relationship growing deeper slowly and easily between the two, as Rin had fallen for him more after finding out Rei was the one to save them from Kiri.

Team Minato had made it a tradition to get together at least once a month as well as for birthdays and talk since they were all doing their own things now. Rin was working in the hospital most of the time, Minato was working harder at being Hokage and trying to strengthen ties within the clans and with Sunagakure and Kushina was looking after Naruto who was growing up fast.

Kakashi was working hard in ANBU, taking on a lot more missions with his team from assassinations to watching over Minato all day. Rei didn't have any more memories and was beginning to get frustrated since his life had come to stand still. He still couldn't become a ninja of Konoha because his memory was missing before Kakashi found him outside the wall. He spent most of his days either training or helping Rin, Minato or Kushina with Naruto and sometimes Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke when the girls wanted to go out for tea, maybe going on a mission here and there but never leaving the village without an escort.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rei sat on Minato's head up on the mountain and looked out over the village he had learned to call home over the last year. Today was Naruto's first birthday and the fist anniversary of him appearing in Konoha. There was still so much he didn't know of himself and he knew the answers were somewhere outside of these walls that both protect and jail him in but it wasn't the worst kind of prison, just bearable.

The nosy council had dug their noses into Team Minato's and his life after his last memory and it caused great stress on their relationships sometimes. Uchiha Fugaku was furious when he learned that Kakashi had awakened the legendary mangekyo sharingan in his borrowed eye and began demanding stuff when Minato shot him down and told him straight out that Kakashi had no obligation to tell him anything unless he wanted to. Kakashi being the now sixteen-year-old man he was told him exactly what happened but how he wasn't able to use it because of his limited chakra compared to an Uchiha's.

Kakashi had been thrown into Shisui's life as his sensei to try to get the promising young Uchiha to awaken his, which he did and Itachi awoke his sharingan at the tender age of five and Kakashi put his foot down there as did Shisui and said he would teach him when he was ready… Fugaku dropped the case.

The council also tried to corner Minato into have more children when Sarutobi Hiruzen, the previous Sandaime Hokage, stepped in with Kushina herself as angry as a rattle snake saying how lucky they were to have one child with the Kyuubi causing hundreds of times more pain than normal birth and that they could go to hell with anymore children then apologising to Minato who had smiled sheepishly and told her one was perfectly fine.

Next was Rei himself. They didn't like him after killing Danzo in the trial but he ignored them and told them everything he remembered without details. They turned on him saying he was a threat and needed to give them Kirigakure's secrets to let him live. Rei told them to go drown themselves and he had no obligation to tell them anything, resulting in his imprisonment in the village and constantly being watched by two ANBU.

To say thing had been difficult was an understatement and Rei snorted as he looked at the sun going down and dusted himself off, heading towards Minato's house for Naruto's party, not his. He jumped down on the porch and instantly felt two extra chakras in there than there should be yet they felt familiar some how but he couldn't be too sure. He felt the ANBU stiffen in his actions as he snuck in, toed off his shoes and walked to the kitchen silently in case something was wrong and he stumbled and choked, making everyone turn in his direction.

"Oh my god…" He choked out and everyone's expressions became mixed but still stood calmly as they allowed Rei to take in the two extra people standing there. They were wearing black capes with red clouds on them, one was a female and the other a male.

The female had blue hair and piercing orange eyes with her hair done up in a bun with an origami rose sitting with it the same blue colour. She also had a piercing through the centre of her bottom lip and was examining Rei as much as he was.

The man was familiar as well but had changed so much. The lower part of his body was in a contraption that allowed him to get around and he had rods sticking out through the coat on his back and he looked sickly pale with red hair and rippling purple eyes.

"Yo Chibi Forty-Five. Long time no see huh?" The female smiled and Rei cracked a crooked smile as he walked closer to them.

"It's good to see you Konan-san, Nagato-san… I'm glad to see you're both still okay after we left Akatsuki." Rei said calmly as he stopped by the two as the party watched on in interest.

**OMG Akatsuki has made an appearance. Well? Is it a little plot twister or what, leave a review if you would so kindly do so **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/n: So Akatsuki have appeared but what are their purpose with Rei A.K.A. forty-five? Well keep reading because the truth will out! **

**Chapter sixteen**

The party carried on after the brief greetings between Rei and the two leaders of Akatsuki. Inoichi, Shikaku, Choza, Hiashi, Tsume, Shibi and Fugaku came with their children and spouses to the party and were currently in the larger back garden enjoying themselves and watching their children play as they would go to the academy together and probably graduate together as well.

Inside the house were Rei, Kakashi, Rin, Jiraiya, Minato, Inoichi and the two Akatsuki members, sitting in silence and waited for either Konan and Nagato to talk or Rei first.

"How have you been Rei?" Nagato finally asked and Rei looked up at them.

"I've been better. A lot has happened since the last time you saw me." Rei said sadly and Konan smiled at him.

"Jiraiya told us most of your story and we're hoping to fill in some of the blanks for you… You see, while you were still in your organisation, Akatsuki crumbled and we went into hiding in the Fire Country for a while. That was when we came across you once again." Nagato began to explain and Rei nodded with furrowed brows as a memory popped up but it was fuzzy.

"How long ago was this?" Rei asked, trying to slot the memory into a time frame.

"Three, nearly four years ago. You were stumbling through the forest when I saw you and recognised you. I brought you back to our hide out and treated your wounds and the fever you had at the time." Konan explained and Rei nodded once again, vaguely remembering this.

"My wounds… Torture and whip marks?" Rei asked and Konan nodded and Rei sighed. "I had just escaped my organisation at that time, it explains how I survived that."

"Yes it truly is a wonder. You must have walked for days like that since your organisation was based in the Earth Country at the time… You barely survived the night and the next day but you pulled through." Nagato said and shook his head with a worried look on Konan's face.

"We asked you to join us to rebuild Akatsuki since our plan was to take control of Amegakure and then take your organisation out because of how inhumane it was but as you saw, it didn't go to plan. You said you would help us but you never wanted to officially join another organisation ever again which was understandable but you wanted this war over with as much as we did and promised to stay with us until it ended." Konan explained and Rei felt dizzy as his memory was slowly filling itself in.

"Are you okay?" Inoichi asked. "We can end it here for now if you can't handle it." Inoichi said and Rei shook his head.

"No, I want to know, I've gone just about six months without any more memories and now I have the chance to fill in more blank spots to it… I'll stop when I can't take it Inoichi-san but thank you for your concern. Please carry on." Rei said, shaking his head and turning back to Konan and Nagato and nodding for them to continue.

"We heard Kirigakure made a move on Uzushio and you said you would go in as a spy and stop them from advancing and adding years to the war and so once you were healed, you left to Kirigakure to stop their plans and stop the war and you were successful… But you weren't found in a very good state at the time. I had a paper butterfly following you all the time and blending into your clothes and once we found out you had made your move, I came to give you back up." Konan explained and Rei sat back against the couch but needed to hear the rest.

"Konan arrived on the scene to find you fighting a white man covered from head to toe and one eye peaking out through a swirl." Nagato said and Rei held his breath while Minato, Jiraya, Kakashi and Rin stiffened up.

"He just seemed to become angrier and angrier the more you fought, I could see darkness taking control of him somehow as you fought for your life but you were hitting damage on him nicely using your specific lightning ability. One shot of one last burst of your chakra and the white receded on him to the right hand side of his body as he collapsed onto the ground and you struggled to stand up. I didn't hear what you said to him before he warped away and you collapsed and I brought you back to our hideout to find you were already loosing your memories…" Konan explained sadly and Rei nodded stiffly, willing his on coming headache away.

"Did I say anything to you once I recovered?" Rei asked as that fuzzy memory came to the surface.

"You said you needed to protect Konoha or the war will continue… You said you needed to kill Uchiha Obito and not to let you forget the name. You left as soon as you were able enough to move and we never saw you again." Nagato said and the room filled with murderous intent.

"That can't be possible!" Minato hissed out in anger as Jiraiya stood up with him and held him back by his shoulders. The room had gone stiff and heavy as Rei gasped for air and suishinned out of there and collapsed in the training grounds, gasping for panicked air… The face was there now… Older and damaged on the right but it was the same… The man he faced in Kirigakure was Uchiha Obito, Team Minato's old teammate.

Rei collapsed to his knees and rolled onto his back, staring up at the stars numbly, wondering where it all went wrong. 'When I was conceived that's when.' His mind muttered to himself and he shuddered with tears, squeezing his eyes shut, letting his body just stay on the grass with his arms out as his mind worked through itself.

Back in the house, some of the guests rushed in when they felt the killing intent to see Rei suishin out and Minato in a fit of rage. Kushina rushed in with worry and forced Minato into a hug until the anger disappeared and he was crying into her embrace. Kakashi and Rin were sitting exactly where they were originally and staring emotionlessly at the floor as thoughts passed through their eyes.

"I'm going after Rei." Kakashi said suddenly with determination and Jiraiya wondered whether it was determination of anger or determination of getting answers as Kakashi shimmered out.

Kakashi ran, following the chakra that felt cold and distant and not the warm electrical it normally is. He had no idea what he was going to do when he got there, he would just have to wait and see. He stopped in a tree, looking down at the clearing in training ground 7 and his heart ached. Rei was lying there, defeated and crying. His silver eyes were glistening with the tears reflecting the moon's light into them and his midnight blue hair swayed with the grass on the cold and gusty October night.

"If you've come to kill me, go right ahead… I don't care anymore." Rei said calmly yet Kakashi could hear how broken and confused Rei was right then.

"I haven't come to kill you…" Kakashi said, jumping out of the tree and walked over to Rei who didn't even twitch to try to defend himself.

"Then go away… I can't face my friend right now knowing the fact I probably killed their teammate." Rei said, choking on a sob but his eyes didn't stray from the moon in the sky.

"And I want to know the truth right now. Come with me please." Kakashi said, standing at Rei's feet and holding his hand out, he couldn't believe how calm he was being. Rei looked at him and there was pain slicing so deep within those eyes as he reached a hand up and grasped his wrist as Kakashi pulled him up and headed off with Rei trailing behind.

"What are we doing here?" Rei asked when they landed on a patch of dead grass and trees around them in the forest, almost like it was a place out of time.

"Look around and tell me what you remember." Kakashi instructed calmly and Rei sighed and looked around slowly, recognition in his eyes as he looked around.

"I had been tracking this Obito since I left Konan and Nagato. He had gotten darker over the weeks as I followed him from the Earth Country all the way here to sit in the trees sitting over the fire statue in the cemetery." Rei began explaining as he felt like he was living the whole scene over again, looking back in the direction of the cemetery.

"Keep going…" Kakashi whispered out, watching Rei intently and trying to sort through his emotions.

"You were standing by two graves and mumbling to them with your hands in your pockets before you went to the memorial stone in training ground 7. You spoke to Obito and said how Minato-sensei was going to have a baby with Kushina but you couldn't officially be there as she was a jinchuuriki and was dangerous for both her and the village and spoke of a disclosed location so everyone would be safe and happy but the shadow stiffened up and jumped away and I followed him." Rei explained, staring at one spot as his eyes became dull and he spoke in a monotone.

"Where did you follow him to?" Kakashi asked in a calm and emotionless voice almost like he had hypnotised Rei.

"It was a cave in the Earth Country and I followed him inside to hear him talking to two other voices and speaking of someone named Madara and his wish to destroy Konoha… I knew I couldn't let it happen as I waited back here in this spot when Naruto came early and so did the tiger masked man… Obito… He had the same sharingan as you did and looked exactly like in your team photo. I confronted him and asked why he would want to hurt people he thanked me for saving a few months back…" Rei said, staring into the woods with the wall behind him, almost like he was facing him all over again.

"And what did Obito say?" Kakashi asked and he watched as Rei tensed up almost for a fight.

"He said he needed the Kyuubi to achieve world peace for Madara-sama and stop all of the heartache and that sacrifices had to be made for the good of the many. He wasn't sincere in his words, it was almost as if madness had taken over and he was just a robot now as he launched for me and I fought back. He was able to pass through me and materialise when he wanted to and it was difficult to fight him back when my memories were fading as fast as my chakra at that moment." Rei said, almost twitching to fight the fight he remembered as he moved around the area in sweeping movements, looking like he was dodging and punching back at air and Kakashi could see what he meant when Rei said about passing through him.

"Did he say anything else when you two were fighting?" Kakashi asked as he walked around the area and watched Rei's movements and real jutsu he was using with deadly power. Kakashi felt the ANBU in the shadows stiffen up and come to arrest him when he signalled to them to wait and he would take care of it.

"No… He just kept muttering about needed to get to the Kyuubi and how it was going to be too late… He needed to finish me off but every time he tried to warp me away, I'd escape with my static release aimed at the epicentre, almost throwing him off some how, like it was his only weak point… I used shadow clones and ninja wire to trap him, feeding electricity along them and wrapping around him to hinder his movements and phasing technique… He couldn't use his dojutsu properly when his chakra was interfered with, leaving him open but me hurt and loosing my memories quickly when a grand fireball came at me. I was kneeling on the ground." Rei showed Kakashi, kneeling in the centre of the dead grass, defeated and tired.

"How did you escape the fireball?" Kakashi asked him as he seemed to snap back into the memory and he looked up at the imaginary fireball coming at him.

"It exploded." Rei whispered as the hairs on Kakashi's neck stood up as the cool white lightning passed through him… Rei mustn't have remembered this at the time but his body did.

"Did Obito die here?" Kakashi asked and Rei nodded, standing up again with angry determination, chakra whipping wildly as Kakashi stood calmly, watching on.

"He did." Rei said icily as he reached up to grab an imaginary throat. "He began to warp us away with the last of his chakra but mine just surged through me and into the epicentre as the warping stopped and the eye was destroyed… He screamed and cursed at me, by now all of my memories were gone as I finished him off like a real tool… Lightning to kill him… Wind to cut him… and Fire to dispose of the remains with the last of my chakra and created a huge fireball, destroying everything in this radius."

**Dum dum dum! Plot twister! Sorry for leaving it there but I love to keep my fans waiting and thinking on how Kakashi is going to react to this little bit of news… Any predictions? Review please **


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello to all of my loyal followers! To Tsukiyo69, Rei didn't have Obito's DNA but they scrapped it up from the scene where he was killed and I just thought the DNA would resemble mostly Obito because it was Obito then most of Madara's being a Zetsu was attached to Obito to keep him alive and some of Tenzo/Yamato's since he shares some of his DNA with the Shodai Hokage… Do you get it? Does anyone else have any questions? Leave me a review please **

**Chapter seventeen**

Kakashi breathed out the breath shakily he had been holding as Rei dropped his arm and slumped to the floor like Kakashi found him that night. Rei was breathing heavily as he came back to himself and his memory was now complete but it made him feel worse.

"You can kill me now Kakashi." Rei whispered out, panting the words slightly as he curled up on his side.

"Why… You did nothing wrong." Kakashi said, getting on his haunches in front of Rei, watching him with an open expression.

"I killed your best friend…" Rei whispered out in regret as tears came to his silver eyes once again.

"Whoever you killed wasn't my best friend… He loved Konoha and wanted to protect it, not destroy it… He would have thanked you and helped you after saving Rin and I not try to kill you when you're down… He may have resembled him and had his eye and DNA but that's not what made him Uchiha Obito, he died the day I got my sharingan and sacrificed himself to save a selfish bastard like myself… The man you killed wasn't Obito but someone trying to live as his shadow." Kakashi said with an even voice, picking Rei up into his arms like the night he found him and began walking back to the village.

"I… I don't understand…" Rei said in a whisper as he wrapped his arms around Kakashi's neck and buried his eyes against his neck to carry on crying.

"I don't either but you saved Minato-sensei, Kushina and Naruto that night and hundreds of other people and I see you as a hero." Kakashi said, tilting his head to rest his cheek on Rei's head.

"I'm no hero." He heard Rei mutter against his collarbone and smiled.

"Perhaps but you wanted peace the right way, you want people to work for it and you're strong because of it, you care about everyone beyond all faults and cry when it's the right time to do so… You fought battles no one knows about and saved hundreds of peoples' lives because of it… Imagine the outcome of this place if you weren't there at the right time. No, to me you're better than a hero because you care." Kakashi whispered and Rei nodded against his neck and stiffened up when they began to get closer to the party again. "You can pretend you're asleep if you don't want to face them and I'll try to sort this all out."

"I'll stay awake but I don't want to talk to anyone right now…" Rei said against Kakashi's collarbone again. Kakashi stopped walking when he saw Minato standing by the door, looking angry with his arms crossed and Kakashi stood his ground, holding Rei tighter. In a flash of yellow, Minato was standing in front of Kakashi with his arms crossed and Kakashi shifted Rei in his grip a little.

"Kakashi…" Minato acknowledged and Kakashi nodded his head back in acknowledgement.

"I'm not handing him over to you." Kakashi stated calmly with determination in his voice.

"He killed Obito." Minato stated, some desperation leaking into his voice.

"It wasn't the Obito we knew Sensei… He wanted the Kyuubi and you know that would have killed Kushina and possibly you and Naruto as well." Kakashi said and Minato raised an eyebrow.

"He remembers?" Minato asked and Kakashi nodded.

"He wanted the Kyuubi for Uchiha Madara's plans. Rei said he had turned dark and he knew he saved Rin and I yet he still kicked him down… He wanted Konoha destroyed Sensei… Don't you see, that monster wasn't Obito and never will be, he died the day he saved my damn life!" Kakashi hissed with anger and Minato took a step back with surprise. "Rei's the true saviour, stopping him before he made it over the wall and towards the disclosed location that he found out when I spoke to the REAL Obito at the memorial stone… And if you want to kill him… You'll have to go through me first." Kakashi said with killing intent before Minato stepped back again with his hands up in surrender.

"Whoa Kakashi, I don't want to kill him… Is this all that you've told me true?" Minato asked unsure and Kakashi's killing intent rose again and he held his hands up again. "Okay, Okay! I believe you… But Rin's in a state… Is it possible for you to take him back with you?" Minato asked and Kakashi blinked in surprise and nodded.

"I'll take him back with me. We can talk about this in the morning… See you tomorrow Sensei." Kakashi said as he turned around and headed back to his apartment and sighed, this had ruined Naruto's birthday.

"I ruined Naruto's birthday." Rei muttered and Kakashi laughed out loud.

"I was just thinking the same thing but he has many more to come, besides, he's one and won't remember anyway so don't feel too bad." Kakashi said and Rei nodded against his neck.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi shot up in bed the next morning and found himself alone. Rei was in his bed next to him but now he was gone and he began to panic as he hurriedly got dressed and summoned his pack right away to find Rei. He jumped out of his window and followed the howl he heard all the way to the Hokage's Tower and panicked as he ran faster to follow the noise onto the roof of the tower and stopped with his pack on the roof.

"Thanks. You're dismissed." Kakashi said distractedly as they went in a poof. Rei was curled up under one of the pillars on the roof with his back facing the mountain and he was sleeping with red and puffy eyes. His face seemed haunted and Kakashi knew it was from all of his memories coming back to him as he walked up to him.

"He's had a rough night." Jiraiya said, sitting on top of the pillar that Rei was sleeping under.

"Jiraiya-sama, what are you doing here?" Kakashi asked, half way across the roof.

"I've been watching this kid beat himself up all night over his entire life… Even after everything he's done and everything he's been through, his heart is still pure and he still wishes for peace the hard working way… He's come to a resolve." Jiraiya said and Kakashi tilted his head.

"A… Resolve?" Kakashi asked and Jiraiya smiled and nodded his head.

"He wants to complete what Nagato and Konan want to. Take down his organisation and find peace with us hippies." Jiraiya said, laughing his usual boisterous voice which made Kakashi eye smile.

"So… What is he going to do?" Kakashi asked and Jiraiya became serious again.

"He's coming with me for a while." Jiraiya said and Kakashi's face fell as his chest got cold and empty in a way. "We're going to find Tsunade to see if she can do something about Nagato's condition and along the way we're going to do some research and he's going to train because he feels like he needs to take out the organisation himself… That's his strongest resolve that he said to me last night." Jiraiya said and Kakashi found himself nodding.

"What about Rin?" Kakashi asked and Jiraiya scowled.

"She broke up with him last night… Perhaps you can help her to see the light about what happened the night he was found… Take the day to say your goodbye, we're leaving tonight." Jiraiya said before he suishinned out. Kakashi swallowed as he walked closer to Rei and sat down in front of him and watched him sleep.

"Someone is going to think you're a stalker." Rei muttered and Kakashi jerked back and laughed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck as Rei opened his eyes and sat up.

"At least I'm a sexy stalker." Kakashi mused and Rei laughed heartily, making Kakashi smile.

"I can't wait for the day someone kicks down that ego of yours." Rei said, laughing and Kakashi laughed along.

"Want to go and bug Minato-sensei for the rest of the day?" Kakashi asked, standing up and holding out his hand for Rei.

"Some of the day… I want to have Ichiraku's before I go. Besides, that's where I'm meeting Jiraiya-sama." Rei said, grabbing Kakashi's wrist as he was pulled up and the two guys smiled at each other before letting go and heading down stairs to bug Minato until he went as red as Kushina's hair.

XXXXXXXXXX

They slurped down their noodles in a bittersweet mood, enjoying it together, with Kushina and Naruto when she heard they were going for noodles and planning to dump the bill on Jiraiya. It was a record time of getting Minato to go red with anger when Kushina showed up, the three of them managed it in half an hour before he stood up and nearly yelled before he took a deep breath and looked at them with piercing and deadly blue eyes, telling them in the nicest ways to get out before he threw him out.

Kushina also stopped by at Rin's house for him to collect the few belongings he had required over the year which was mainly lots of loose jeans and pants and long and baggy black shirts with maybe one red and one navy blue there as well and his weapon pouches when they told her of the plan and she agreed. Jiraiya appeared in a poof of smoke next to Rei and smiled at him.

"Ready to leave kid?" Jiraiya asked and Rei nodded as he stood up with Kakashi.

"Hey Teuchi-san, Jiraiya will pay for our bill. See you soon Kushina-san." Rei said with a grin as she suishinned out and Kakashi and him hurriedly walked away from the stand with a stunned Jiraiya, emptying out his wallet for the grinning man before following after them.

"I wouldn't have minded you having a few bowls on my behalf but to invite Kushina… That's just too cruel." Jiraiya cried animatedly at his empty wallet as they walked towards the gates.

"Well Kakashi… This is goodbye for now." Rei said to his friend and held his hand out and Kakashi looked at it and eye smiled.

"Goodbye for now." Kakashi said, grabbing his hand and yanking him into a hug before pulling back, patting him on the shoulder and suishinned away with a two-fingered wave.

'See you soon Konoha' Rei said, taking one last look at the village basked in the orange sunset light before following after Jiraya for their trip.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I'm so sorry I haven't posted for the last three days TToTT. Please don't hate me I've just been really busy with dancing and birthday parties and hangovers and breaking a few bones while partying… Anyway here's a double chapter to ask for forgiveness!**

**Chapter eighteen**

"So he's left with Jiraiya-sensei?" Minato asked the mysterious shadow that had appeared in his office.

"Yes… What did he tell you Sensei?" Kakashi asked as he slipped out of the shadows to stand in front of Minato's desk.

"He came back to the house last night and Inoichi was still there and he showed us the memory… You were right, he wasn't the same Obito we use to know." Minato sighed, rubbing his temples and leaning back in his chair.

"What about what happened with Rin?" Kakashi asked and Minato tilted his head and stared up at the ceiling, linking his fingers together and resting them across his stomach.

"She refused to believe that Obito became what he did even after showing her the memory and she broke up with him… I am surprised though, he took it really well and she said maybe they could become friends over time but she couldn't date someone who killed her teammate." Minato said and Kakashi nodded.

"At least she said they could try to be friends… Who came up with this current plan of action?" Kakashi asked, sitting down on the faded red couch, lounging across it.

"Surprisingly Jiraiya-sensei did but Nagato and Konan agreed to it and have returned to Amegakure for the time being until we can find Tsunade-sama… If everything works the way it's going so far, we'll have a new ally for Konoha and Suna, which would be perfect." Minato said with a slight smile, sitting up again.

"Do you want to come over for Dinner Kakashi?" Minato asked and Kakashi blinked and then eye smiled.

"Sounds good Sensei… Thank you." Kakashi said, standing up with Minato and heading out the door while Minato wrapped his arm over his shoulder and leaned on his favourite student.

XXXXXXXXXX

Travelling with the perverted Sannin really wasn't bad as Rei found out. He had to read over his books and such and give him feedback and he was surprised his face wasn't flushed red for weeks with some of the dirty content he read through. He treated him well as he soon found out it was a give and take relationship, things fell into an easy stride between the two and their travelling. Rei would wake him up in the morning with painkillers water and some greasy cooked food for the day and then go to shower. By then Jiraiya was sitting up and looking at a map and doing some paperwork that needed to be done (Cough… Write porn… Cough). He'd shower after Rei who would pack up for the day and make lunch for them.

They'd leave once he received his training to do during their walking and head out. Some times they stopped at 'tea houses' (Cough… Hidden Bar… Cough) and have some evening food and refreshments while Rei went to find a hotel for the night and do some more training and studying before he had to help the drunk Jiraiya to bed… Starting the whole routine again.

"We're going to Kiri." Jiraiya burst in one night and began packing his things quickly and Rei followed suit.

"Why Kiri?" Rei asked, grabbing some stuff and food before following Jiraiya out.

"Tsunade's there but not for long so we have to move quickly kid." Jiraiya said as they reached the forest, jumping into the trees with the moon hanging high in the sky.

"Finally… After how many months?" Rei breathed out and Jiraiya chuckled.

"Missing Konoha already? It's only been six months or is it a 'someone' you're missing huh?" Jiraiya said, wiggling his eyebrows at Rei who blushed full force and avoided his gaze.

"N-No but I do miss Minato-sama, Kushina and Naruto plus Kakashi was my sparring partner since we're on the same skill level… Hell I even miss Rin and Guy and that's saying something." Rei said and Jiraiya laughed and carried on silently. Rei had done some serious thinking while he had been away and realised he never truly loved Rin. She was convenient which was wrong but Rei didn't know any better at the time, he was a trained player of people's minds since he was young and it became so natural over time that he never took in his true emotions even though they're so confused anyway.

He knew that what he felt around Kakashi, Minato and his family and even Inoichi were true emotions because it felt right down to the bottom of his toes and up to the top of his head that he felt truly happy and safe with them even though they could be scary as hell sometimes. Rei was even beginning to warm up to Jiraiya and found out he had a wicked sense of humour even if a little perverted most of the time but he truly cared even when it didn't seem that way otherwise why would he work so hard with his spy network when he could retire and just write those smutty novels for a living.

"So tell me more about this Tsunade." Rei asked as they came to water and began running across it towards Kirigakure and the Water Country.

"She's a feisty one, been after her for my entire life. She's the granddaughter of the Shodai Hokage and one of the best medic ninja known for her perfect chakra control and abilities of youth and life." Jiraiya said and Rei smirked.

"What made her leave her village then?" Rei asked then he regretted asking it as soon as the words left by the look on Jiraiya's face.

"The second world war was harsh… She was still young when she lost her brother in battle then she fell in love and he died right in front of her and she was covered in his blood… This may seem odd but she developed Haemophobia and could no longer be a medic and so she fled with her cousin from the Niidaime's line as soon as she graduated. She cursed the village and the title of Hokage as she left, vowing to never return again." Jiraiya explained and Rei looked down at the water.

"I'm sorry." Rei muttered but Jiraiya laughed.

"It was as much your fault as anyone's on the street. You have nothing to apologise for." Jiraiya said.

"I made you bring up bad memories and I'm sorry for that Jiraiya-sama." Rei said and Jiraiya studied Rei's face and couldn't help the smile on his face. He reached out and ruffled his midnight locks and he looked up with confusion.

"Thank you." Jiraiya said and they carried on in silence.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Wow, what a coincidence Tsunade!" Jiraiya shouted into the pub three days later, spotting his old teammate and holding his arms open wide with the biggest and goofiest grin ever. Rei watched the blonde haired lady groan and bang her forehead on the table while a black haired lady grinned sheepishly and nervously next to her.

"Go 'way Jiraiya and stop stalking me, I'm never going to go out with you." Tsunade groaned into the table, her eyes still closed as Rei swerved through the crowd with Jiraiya sat down next to her and Rei next to him. "Who's the kid?" She asked, picking up her head enough to open her eyes and glare at Rei.

"Someone I'm looking after and helping out with his resolve… I've come here to ask that you come back to Konoha Tsunade." Jiraiya said, changing his playful tone to one that was hard and business like as he drank some sake.

"I refuse." She said flat out, drinking her sake almost as a challenge back at Jiraiya.

"Minato orders it… You know he became Hokage…" Jiraiya said and Tsunade huffed.

"And he's an idiot for taking the job…" She said.

"Excuse me but I don't think I heard that right… Minato-sama is what?" Rei asked with contained anger, leaning forwards on the table to glare at Tsunade as she turned her board eye on him.

"Exactly what you heard brat… Minato's an idiot for ever having the dream in the first place." Tsunade said, not even finishing her sentence before Rei was trying to climb over the bar and smack her silly little head into the bar but Jiraiya was holding him back under his arms.

"Minato-sama is a great man! How dare you slander his name you old hag!" Rei said out in anger and was even surprised at his own out burst but what she said had hit a sore spot in his chest and he wanted to hurt her. Jiraiya was loosing grip on him when Tsunade flicked Rei's forehead and sent him flying out the door of the bar to crash into the wooden fence on the other side of the street. Rei shook the broken wood out of his head as he pulled himself out of the crater in the fence he had made and waved away the dust.

"Wow, this kid has some balls to come out of that unscaved. Where'd you find such a hardy student?" Tsunade's voice boomed in Rei's head as he held a hand to it and looked up through one eye to see her standing there, coat missing and her hands on her hips.

"He's a student of my student's." Jiraiya said cryptically and Tsunade's face scrunched up.

"But I've never seen him in Konoha… Dammit Jiraiya, stop taking advantage of my words when I'm drunk!" Tsunade shouted at him.

"The three Ame orphans… He helped them out before now they're returning the favour however… Nagato is in a bad way and that's why we need you." Jiraiya said seriously and Tsunade turned on him, pointing a finger up at him.

"Do you not understand the word 'Haemophobia'?! It's not that I won't help him but I can't." Tsunade said to him angrily.

"Then you're even more of an idiot than Minato-sama… You're pathetic." Rei spat as he stood up and literally spat some blood out of his mouth and Tsunade turned on him and held up a finger.

"Fine… You want a fight, you've got one and all I'll need is this finger like before." Tsunade said cockily and Rei crouched.

"I really wouldn't fight him Tsunade, he's not quite easy to beat like Minato was at this age." Jiraiya warned but Tsunade snapped her fingers together to tell him to shut up and that's when Rei launched his first attack. Tsunade knocked the kunai heading for her off balance and coarse with her finger as Rei charged in behind it and began a series of taijutsu attacks while Tsunade blocked with her one finger. She didn't notice he had connected ninja wire to the kunai as he flung it up from between them but she wasn't quick enough to dodge properly and it cut a diagonal line up her throat and she froze, collapsing to her knees and shivering as a blue crystal necklace fell off and Rei caught it in his hand with his kunai and put it away.

"I may not know what you've been through…" Rei began, crouching down in front of her on his haunches. "But believe me I've had my fair share of pain but at least I'm doing something about it while all you're doing is running away… Like I said earlier, YOU'RE PATHETIC." Rei spelled out slowly and dropped the necklace in Tsunade's lap and began to walk away.

Jiraiya watched and noted how perceptive Rei was and was quite impressed if it wasn't that he felt bad for Tsunade right then and was torn between going after Rei or helping Tsunade with Shizune.

"Wait…" Tsunade panted out and Rei stopped dead in his step. "I'm… I'm not… Not done yet!" Tsunade said, her voice getting stronger as she stood up, facing her fear and before anyone knew it, she had punched a crater into the ground where Rei was a split second before.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter nineteen**

"You're breaks are healing nicely. Just don't move for the next few days." Tsunade said sweetly laced with poison as she patted Rei's bandaged ribs and he winced at each tap.

"Crazy old bitch." Rei muttered and he saw Tsunade's ears pick up and she turned around with a wicked grin on her face.

"What was that brat?" She almost growled and Rei smiled sheepishly.

"Ahaha… Nothing Tsunade-sama, go back to what you were doing ma'am." Rei said with a nervous laugh and Tsunade smiled and walked over to the lounge area. Rei lifted his arms up carefully and gently behind his head as he smiled, listening to Jiraiya explain Nagato's condition as the whole scene played through his mind, he had never seen such amazing powers before but look at what he gave up just for it.

Now that Tsunade has been found, Nagato can heal and rule Ame properly and fairly, becoming a nice ally for Konoha and Suna like Minato said. He really should be hating Nagato, Yahiko and Konan for putting the question in his head when he was young but he's glad that watching them fighting for something they believed in helped him to see there was more to just being a shinobi than being just a tool.

"Rei-kun…" Shizune called, bringing him out of his thoughts as he lowered his arms carefully and looked at the black haired woman. "I'm sorry about Tsunade-sama's behaviour but she's had it rough… You said something about your pain and I was wondering if you'd tell me a little about yourself so I can try to understand you a little more." She said, sitting on the edge of the bed carefully with an open expression, ready to listen and Rei sighed gently with a careful smile with his split lip.

"Well… It goes like this…" He began to tell his story once again.

XXXXXXXXXX

Minato sighed happily, leaning back in his chair at the dinner table, patting his full stomach and smiled contently. The talks with Suna were going well and the clans were finally cooperating and working better, extending their horizons a little as the children have been mixing more instead of just in the academy.

"Sorry I'm late Sensei… There was this old lady who was trying to get her cat down from a tree and I had to help her." Kakashi said, sitting at the table and Minato smiled and laughed silently.

"You always have to be tardy huh Hatake?" Minato asked with amusement as Kushina walked in, dumped his dinner in front of him and hit him over the head before heading back into the kitchen and Naruto laughed from his baby chair at the table.

"Me? Tardy? No… Everyone else just has their times set too early, I'm never late sensei." Kakashi said laughing as he shovelled some food into his mouth and made a funny face at Naruto who giggled. Minato smiled fondly as he watched his son and student interact together and vaguely wondered how Jiraiya and Rei were doing, making his smile drop slightly. He had only known the kid for a year but he had taken him in quite easily into his life and he enjoyed the company and help in his office as well as an outsider's opinion.

"Heard anything from Jiraiya-sama?" Kakashi asked and Minato laughed at the hopefulness in Kakashi's eyes.

"Last I heard, they were in Kiri with a lead on Tsunade-sama… Missing Rei much?" Minato asked and Kakashi sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and this movement made Minato perk up a little.

"I am… A lot." He admitted in a whisper and Minato could see slight longing in the dark grey eye. "I guess I never realised how interesting he made my life in one year, he was a challenge for me at nearly the same age and I enjoyed it." Kakashi said and Minato could see his body language scream with longing.

"How did he make your life interesting?" Minato asked with so much curiosity he felt he would burst but held in his knowing grin and sat calmly.

"He's like a puzzle, someone I can't read like everyone else. He has no underneath his underneath yet he does the most unexpected things that I would swear in a torture room that I would admit I hate but when he acts around me, I don't flinch away like I normally would, instead I kind of lean into the contact. He keeps me on my toes and always comes up with the most insane plans he always manages to pull it off and it impresses me how he ever came up with and executed them." Kakashi said, his eye distant as he smiled slightly.

"Kakashi's In Love!" Kushina shouted from the kitchen and Kakashi actually fell off of his chair and Minato pouted.

"Aw come on Kushina, I was getting there. I didn't want to scare him off." Minato complained and Kushina laughed as Kakashi recovered and sat back down stiffly.

"What? In… Love? With Rei?" Kakashi questioned with shocked confusion, sitting stiffly in his chair as Kushina came into the dinning room and sat next to Minato.

"Of coarse… It's been so deadly obvious those few months ago. The tension in the room is so thick it's hard to miss and shllm hmmm mnao!" Kushina said before her mouth was covered by Minato's hand and he was grinning sheepishly at Kakashi who had gone pale as the tablecloth.

"Or it's just a really intense friendship?" Minato suggested, trying not to confuse him further. "Okay, here's an easy suggestion for you Kakashi and it worked for Kushina and I so listen up." Minato said calmly and he could see Kakashi listening. "Don't consciously think about Rei and when you do let your feelings guide the thoughts and not your brain. Feel rather than think and let your heart guide you when you see him when he comes back or you'll loose your chance." Minato said sincerely and Kushina smiled and kissed his cheek.

"But I'm not gay…" Kakashi whispered, eyebrows furrowed down at the table. Minato sighed but smiled.

"Don't put a label on it or you'll confuse yourself further Kakashi… Let me put it this way, what do you think of Yuuhi Kurenai?" Minato asked and Kakashi seemed to relax a little again.

"She's a strong kunoichi who is excellent in genjutsu. She has a gentle personality yet fierce when threatened… Do I need to say anymore?" Kakashi asked and Minato shook his head.

"Now what do you think of Asuma?" Minato asked and Kakashi tilted his head with confusion but answered anyway.

"He's a great guy that I get along with well and he's well liked. Big build but he suits it and has adapted his skills accordingly. Anything else?" Kakashi asked and Minato shook his head again.

"Do you see what I did there?" Minato asked and Kakashi furrowed his brows. "I took two equal people and asked you to describe anything about them. With Kurenai, all you talked about were her skills and with Asuma you mentioned one physical attribute so maybe you're attracted more to the male's build than female. Perhaps you're not just gay or just straight but maybe you are bisexual and swing both ways… Go home and try not to think it over too much, just feel like I said and the answers will come to you Kakashi." Minato suggested gently and Kakashi nodded and headed home with a lot to 'feel'.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rei swore at the tree he was punching before it hit a nerve and felt like he punched a solid brick wall. He had finally healed after four months of doing nothing no thanks to Tsunade the miracle healer and medic. Shizune actually helped him out a little bit each day and now he was up two months early after breaking nearly every bone in his body… Let's just say he lost to Tsunade… This time.

"Well if it isn't the traitor Chikara…" A voice called with amusement and Rei froze and turned around slowly. "I've been looking for you kid." She said, grinning and showing off her pointed teeth just like all the other Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kiri.

"Ringo Ameyuri…" Rei said back to her, swallowing quickly and she smiled further. She had long, red hair, black eyes, and together with a Kiri hitai-ate, she also wore a simple cloth around her head, distinctively tied at both sides so as the ends of the material protrude upwards, while the remainder of hair is allowed to flow downwards. She wore a loose, pinstriped long-sleeved shirt with a dark obi around the waist, black pants, which got much looser near the ends, resembling hakama, and striped leg warmers. Like all the other members of her generation of swordsmen, she wore bandages loosely tied around the neck and had jagged teeth.

"And why may I ask have you been looking for me?" Rei asked, standing his ground deciding he had to show no fear against her even if his insides and memory were screaming to run.

"Well, I just came here, hearing you were back in town and wanted so see if you're a worthy meal." She said out silkily and Rei knew she wasn't going to leave him without a fight. "It's rumoured that you took out fourteen of Kirigakure's best ANBU just over two years ago and I thought you sounded interesting plus there's a bounty for your head if you ever showed up again." She added, unsheathing her twin blades Kiba as they charged up with lightning. Rei's mind was running so fast about how to fight her since he had no weapons on him and she would just cut through them anyway. He did the only thing he could do in that situation as he kicked up a steel pipe that was in the alleyway with them and sent his lightning natured chakra through it and stood at the ready with it like a staff and Ameyuri grinned further as she charged in to attack.

XXXXXXXXXX

The building Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune and Rei were staying in rumbled and shook with an explosion and all three shinobi still in there stood up and noticed that the explosion came from where Rei said he was going to train and Jiraiya cursed his laid back attitude as he rushed out of the door with Tsunade and Shizune close behind.

"What's going on?" Tsunade asked with panic as they navigated themselves around the maze of a village.

"Rei-kun use to be a ninja for this village… Long story short Tsunade-sama, there are a lot of people here that are after his head at the moment." Shizune explained and Jiraiya cursed as he quickly back tracked around a corner and looked around it to have to pull his head back and avoid lightning breaking some of the wall off. The corridor where the battle was taking place lit up at each strike of metal against metal and Jiraiya deduced from the shadow that it was Rei fighting someone a little shorter than him also with the lightning affinity.

They nearly missed the body flying down the corridor and hit the end of it with a huge crash and the smell of blood and they rushed around the corner to see Rei was standing upright, glaring in the direction the body flew and they turned around to see Ringo Ameyuri pulling herself out of a crater created by her body hitting the wall with such force.

"It seems I've underestimated you Chikara… I'll let you live this once but come back to Kirigakure again and I'll show you something that I know you'll like." Ameyuri said as she suishinned away and left them standing there with surprise and shock stuck on their faces. The clank of metal behind them made them turn around and see Rei had dropped the pipe he was holding as his eyes rolled back, his knees buckling and he began to fall forwards but Jiraiya's back stopped his fall as he picked him up and Shizune examined him.

"To go up against one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen was insane when he's not in the best condition." Shizune said with worry as she took out a cloth and began cleaning the blood on his body away since he had lost his shirt sometime during the fight.

"I don't think he had a choice." Jiraiya muttered as they began making their way back to the hotel they were staying in.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: I'm back again! Thanks for the followers and review guys, I really appreciate the encouragement to post my first yaoi fanfic and I hope I don't disappoint you later on with the… you know… Yaoi lemon stuff that's coming up in the next few chapters if I remember correctly. Also to any Rin fans… I'm sorry for this chapter, you'll read why but it's nothing too bad. Okay I'm going to stop there before I give the chapter away so here it is! R&R my loyal followers! Chapter twenty

Rei's mind was over thinking what Ameyuri had said to him as they were heading back to Konoha. The hunter had turned into the prey since she was a missing nin when he was ANBU, basically a kill on sight order was given if you ever saw her but no one knew why one of the loyal swordsmen had turned into a rogue.

"Thinking about what Ameyuri said to you?" Jiraiya asked, slowing down to walk next to Rei.

"Yeah I am. Her actions and words don't make sense to what I knew from the bingo book on her personality and such."

"Don't worry about it kid. Once we drop Tsunade off we'll go to Amegakure and escort Nagato and Konan back so Tsunade can take a look at him and then the hard work come in for you to fulfil your mission. You can finally move on with your life." Jiraiya said, giving him a good pat on his shoulder and Rei smiled a little and looked ahead.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Minato sat behind his desk and tried to relax after the meeting with the council. They really push him to his wits end sometimes and he thanks whatever god is out there that he had Hiruzen to back him up all of the time but he's slowly getting the way their brains work and can side step most things they bring up.

"So, the brat really is Hokage." A familiar voice said with amusement and his eyes shot open to see four familiar faces and he sighed and blushed.

"It seems my senses are getting slack… It's good to see you too Tsunade-sama." Minato said, standing up from his chair with a smile.

"You too gaki. Now what's this I hear about a new alliance with both Suna and Ame?" Tsunade asked with a smile and Minato returned it as he sat back down again.

"It's all thanks to Rei here that we even heard about three of Jiraiya-sensei's wayward students still being alive… I don't know if you have heard but we put Danzo to death for treason a while ago." Minato explained seriously and Tsunade's jaw dropped.

"The Shimura Danzo?" Tsunade asked with shock and Minato nodded his head seriously.

"During the last war, he had been causing all sorts of messes in the smaller countries and then Rei came along and gave us enough proof to prosecute him… He was there with Akatsuki when Yahiko was killed and Nagato released the devastating power of the rinnegan, putting Nagato into a very bad way currently… His memory was enough for the council to press treason." Minato explained and Tsunade plonked down on the faded red couch with shock.

"Well… That was unexpected." Tsunade said and Minato gave her a small smile.

"So… Are you going to stay in Konoha permanently now?" Minato asked innocently and Tsunade laughed.

"Sure, why not, it seems things have gotten interesting since I've been away. Plus, I've been told to stop running from my path and face it." Tsunade said, looking at Rei who smiled at her a little.

"Let's go to the hospital so you can get familiarised with it again Tsunade-sama and meet some promising medics that are being trained at the hospital… I need a break anyway." Minato said, standing up and leading the group down the roads while Tsunade Minato and Jiraiya chatted about what had been happening.

The village hadn't changed in the ten months he had been away and he smiled with nostalgia. Konoha had become important to him over that one year before they left to find Tsunade yet he had never felt so at home when he returned again.

"How has everyone been Minato-sama?" Rei asked distractedly and Minato raised an eyebrow at him.

"Fine. Naruto's growing quickly, you should visit him before you take off again so he doesn't completely forget you, you know how children can be." Minato laughed and Rei was still slightly distracted as he nodded and hummed.

"Kushina is still Kushina, she said she's joining back into the Ninja Corps when Naruto begins at the academy. Rin's been working hard at the hospital and she's becoming quite the medic and studying a lot, I'm proud of her." Minato said, hiding in a grin at purposely not mentioning Kakashi.

"What about Kakashi? He's okay isn't he?" Rei asked and Minato could hear slight worry in his voice but he just smiled.

"Kakashi's fine, just a few bumps, bruises and chakra exhaustion from missions and such since he's gotten more serious into ANBU. Unfortunately he's on a mission at the moment and I don't think he'll return before you leave again but I'll let him know you said hi." Minato said and he saw Rei's face fall slightly and Minato smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Damn and I had something I wanted to give to him personally…" Rei muttered.

"Well I can give it to him." Minato suggested.

"No! I mean um… It's fine thank you, I'm sure we'll see each other soon." Rei said smiling as he entered the hospital and he held a flinch when he saw Rin at the front desk and hid behind the group.

"Rin, I'm sure you know Tsunade-sama?" Minato asked sarcastically as the girl turned to face them with a smile and then her face went blank before a bright beaming smile began to form and she bowed hastily.

"Tsunade-sama! It's an honour to meet you, my name is Nohara Rin and you've been a great inspiration for me to become a medic as great as you." Rin said excitedly, continuously bowing before Tsunade grabbed her shoulder and smiled at her.

"Thank you Rin and it's nice to meet you but all that bowing was making my hang over swim." Tsunade said and Jiraiya laughed while Minato smiled sheepishly.

"So since you have been working so hard, why don't you take me on a tour to get reacquainted with everything?" Tsunade asked the beaming girl who smiled and nodded at Tsunade.

"I just need to talk to Rei quickly first if you wouldn't mind Tsunade-sama." Rin asked and Tsunade waved her off. Rin walked up to Rei and grabbed his wrist, pulling him outside of the doors and off to one side.

"I have nothing to say to you Rin." Rei said coolly, crossing his arms and Rin nodded, fidgeting and looking away with shame.

"I know but the thing is… I've missed you since you've been gone and I was hoping that when you've finished what you need to that we could start off from where we left off." Rin said, a blush dusting her cheeks as she took Rei's hand gently and linked her fingers with his that stayed slack.

"You love playing games with people don't you?" Rei asked harshly and she looked up at him with confusion. "Do you have any idea how utterly terrible I felt when I found out I killed Obito again? You can ask Kakashi, I asked him to kill me Rin… He was the only one to see that Obito had change and believed I did the right thing for you, for Minato, Kushina and Naruto and hundreds of other people if he got the Kyuubi. He would have destroyed Konoha and everything we both love here… Do you even know what Kiri were planning to do with you?" Rei asked, snatching his hand away and stepping back from Rin, curling his hands into fists at his sides.

"I… I don't." She whispered out as tears came to her eyes.

"They were going to turn you into a jinchuuriki and let you flee back here and then unleash the bijuu in Konoha, causing a whole new round for the war. But by what I saw when we were escaping, Kakashi was already coming to get you and you two would have tried to flee together and you would have been hit by that Raikiri that day and died by Kakashi's hands. Either way, you should have died that day and Kakashi would have probably followed afterwards… I don't know what 'Obito's' plan was but it involved destroying everything you love and you should have realised this earlier before you accused me of murder Rin… I can't love someone who doesn't see the blind truth about themselves." Rei said, turning and walking away before he did something he knew he would regret. He heard the hospital doors open and close behind him before he found someone walking next to him.

"What was that about?" Minato asked with interest and concern.

"Rin wanted me back but still wouldn't accept the stone hard truth." Rei said with restrained anger.

"And she didn't take that well?" Minato asked as they walked companionably together through the village with people stopping and bowing to Minato who nodded his head at them with a smile.

"Hell, I'd date Kakashi before I go out with her again." Rei said out and Minato's blue eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Really now? Kakashi huh?" Minato teased but Rei was too angry to get what Minato was going on about.

"Of coarse. He's an attractive guy and he's smart enough to see facts and reality instead of some dream fantasy about the world. He'd be better for me any day than some stupid girl living in a fairy tail." Rei said matter of fact.

"And what if Kakashi were to kiss you?" Minato asked grinning at how much fun he was having. Rei was about to answer before the question hit him properly and he just realised what he said but he couldn't find it in his heart to protest about what he just said. "Come on Rei, don't chicken out now, answer the question." Minato teased and Rei felt his cheeks heat up at the thought of kissing Kakashi…

"I… I never really thought about it before." Rei whispered and Minato was almost grinning with glee that Kakashi liked Rei and vice versa.

"So… Would you kiss back?" Minato asked and Rei hesitated again and looked up at Minato, his whole face red and the blush running down his neck as well and Rei tentatively nodded with a little crooked smile and his face went a further red before Minato crushed him in a hug.

"Well if it ever does happen, you'll know that I approve of it." Minato said, ruffling the teen's head while he looked away with his blush. "But you must be tired and hungry plus it's your birthday tomorrow so let's go back to my house and we can celebrate and get you reacquainted with Naruto." Minato said, hanging his arm over Rei's shoulders and steering him back to his place.

Rei was distracted all the way there as the question kept playing in his mind. He knew and even said that Kakashi was important to him now why? Rei wanted answers from himself and so he started from the beginning. The beginning was in Kiri, he was loyal and fierce to come back for Rin and the glimpse of his eye he caught when he swung Rin out of the way of his Raikiri made his chest hurt because he could see how guilty Kakashi would have felt if he actually hit Rin and killed her.

Then Kakashi had brought him in for medical treatment when he was found outside the village walls and according to Rin and Minato, he rarely left his side and Rei felt grateful and cared about… Maybe that's where it officially started. Then in the hospital after he woke up, Kakashi had caught him and his grip was so gentle yet strong and this thought made something in his groin stir and his blush come back as he carried on thinking.

Then they pranked the village together and he really enjoyed his company and helping him get Minato back for the pink uniform saga. That was the first time he had seen Kakashi without his mask and… Without his clothes… His skin was perfectly smooth and clear of scars unlike his and the muscles in his back shifted every time he moved and his groin stirred again and decided he would think about that later when he had some privacy. But the sparring match afterwards with Kakashi made him feel accomplished and satisfied just to be in his company.

They had good laughs together and a few arguments of avoiding each other but once those were over, he felt closer to Kakashi. Then he saw the want in Kakashi's eye one time and he tripped and fell on his face and Minato stopped next to him with confusion

"Figured it out yet?" Minato grinned down at him and Rei went pale and wide-eyed.

"Oh my god." He whispered while Minato smirked at him.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry for not posting for those last few days but we had some hectic thunderstorms and I debated it was better not posting than trying to post, get struck by lightning, loosing this story, my computer and the internet. Thanks to all of my loyal followers for sticking with me because sadly there's only +- 10 chapters left :'( Another side note, when I say 'Kiba' in this story, I don't mean the actual character. It's twin swords used in a filler episode of Naruto with the Curry of Life Arc where a guy named Raiga used them but before they belonged to Ameyuri that according to my sources say she died of a sickness so I'm following that. Enjoy and please R&R hank you SSSOOO much to Arcami for telling me so quickly i posted the wrong chapter love you lots. I was wondering when i would do that one day.

Chapter twenty-one

Minato sat grinning to himself in his office a day later. Rei had sat at the dinner table the night before, as pale as a sheet, staring wide-eyed and muttering to himself, shaking his head and saying Kakashi's name now and again… Why did he have to send Kakashi on that extended mission?

But right now, Rei didn't have time to think about love and such because he had something to do first and foremost. Well Minato would just have to play matchmaker when Rei has finished what he needs to do and push them together because he's pretty sure Kakashi likes Rei but wouldn't admit it to himself.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Are you sure you want to come back here after what Ameyuri said to you?" Jiraya asked as they entered Kirigakure once again.

"I'm sure Jiraiya-sama… By what she said, it didn't sound like a threat… It may be surprising but I've fought her before as an ANBU here and she beat me no problem but when I was fighting her back then she kept coughing and she may not have thought I noticed but she was coughing up blood. I wasn't a trained ANBU for nothing." Rei said with distracted determination.

"I see. It's a tradition for the swordsmen to choose a successor when they die and Ameyuri may be a ruthless killer but I never heard anything bad about her, she was one of the better swordsmen… Has she ever said anything like that to you?" Jiraiya asked and Rei shook his head.

"Not that I remember but maybe her time is coming up short and she is running out of options of lightning natured kenjutsu specialists." Rei said and Jiraiya looked at him.

"And you're skill of kenjutsu is?" Jiraiya asked.

"It's not bad but it's not excellent either… It was enough to keep me in ANBU and survive." Rei said and Jiraiya nodded, looking ahead again.

"Well, this looks like the same alleyway unless someone was thrown through that wall as well." Jiraiya said, looking around the alleyway and Rei took a deep breath and nodded.

"She's here… Stop playing Ameyuri, we're not your pray." Rei stated calmly and she slid out of the shadows with the same toothy grin and a hand on her hip.

"I'm actually surprised you came back Chikara." She mocked and Rei stood his ground.

"My name's not Chikara anymore. It's Reiji, Rei for short." Rei said and she smirked and began to walk forwards.

"Oh Reiji huh… Nice name kid. So what are you doing walking around with Konoha shinobi huh?" She asked silkily and stopped a meter away from them.

"They're the ones who saved me from my personal hell and so I want to repay the favour and move on in that peaceful village… No other motives this time but to live my life and not just live like an emotionless tool anymore." Rei said seriously with conviction and Ameyuri just seemed to smile bigger.

"You see Rei-kun… Lightning is more potent when emotions are involved and that's why Kiba was given to me, a girl lightning user… But it's like you guessed and my time is coming up short and I need to pass on Kiba to someone worthy. You have earned my respect by standing up to me and so I want to train you and give you Kiba when my time comes and keep them out of Kirigakure's hands." Ameyuri said, loosing her easy smile and becoming deadly serious and Rei blinked as the information just flowed through his head.

"Wait, you want to pass on Kiba to me when it rightfully belongs to Kirigakure… I already have them after my head I don't need them after my balls too." Rei said with little panic to his voice and Ameyuri laughed.

"You're such a riot kid. So are you going to take the offer or should I just go and talk to that Raiga guy I had my eye on?" She asked with laughter still in her voice and Rei became angry.

"Hell no will you be giving those to that bastard Raiga, I'll take your stupid training then." Rei said then ended up having to dodge a ball of lightning.

"I will warn you now… I won't go easy on you kid." She warned in a low voice with the Kiba at the ready.

"I know that already Ameyuri, you're one hell of a teacher and I'm willing to train with you to get better and complete my goals and having Kiba with me will make it easier and I promise they'll stay out of Kiri's hands like you want because I don't plan on coming back after this." Rei said seriously and Ameyuri smiled easily.

"Is the pervert coming too?" She asked, placing her hands back on her hips after sheathing Kiba again. Rei smothered a grin and looked to Jiraiya.

"Hey if you think you can trust this woman then go right ahead… I'll be around if you need me but don't get yourself killed, Nagato and Minato would never forgive me." Jiraiya said, walking off with a wave over his shoulder and Rei smiled and turned back to Ameyuri.

"So… When can we get started?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi groaned as he pried his right eye open and wanted to destroy what was beeping. He knew what that beeping meant and he groaned a little louder this time and turned onto his side like a naughty child.

"Oh stop complaining brat, at least you made it back in one piece and before your birthday." A familiar female voice said and Kakashi turned over and saw the blonde medic and blinked.

"Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi asked and she scoffed.

"Well who else would I be brat? Anyway your condition is looking good, just a few bumps bruises and such with chakra exhaustion, you should be out of here tomorrow." Tsunade said, writing something down on a clipboard and Kakashi watched.

"Wait, what's the date?" Kakashi asked with confusion and Tsunade smiled at him.

"Happy seventeenth birthday Kakashi." She said grinning, digging in her coat for something and handed Kakashi a rectangular parcel covered with blue wrapping paper and he sat up carefully and took it from Tsunade. "It's not from me, just so you know." Tsunade said, hanging the clipboard back up and left. Kakashi looked at the parcel in his hands and wondered who gave it to Tsunade to give to him and what it was as he shook it but it made no noise.

He shrugged and decided to open it carefully, not to rip the paper since that was just the way he was and his eyes went wide and he grinned under his mask. It was the brand new Icha Icha that wasn't suppose to come out until December. He slid his hand down the front cover of the book before grabbing it and opening it to find a hand written letter and he read it:

Dear Kakashi

_Happy seventeenth. It's too bad I can't be there to celebrate it with you but I hope you enjoy your present. Jiraiya had actually finished writing this months ago but the publisher held back the release date so I managed to sneak a copy for you since I know how much you seem to like them._

_I'm sure I'll see you soon but take care of yourself._

_Rei_

This brought a smile to Kakashi's face and he couldn't quell it as he kept reading the letter Rei left and did what Minato said to do and let himself feel what he was feeling as he read over the letter again… Maybe he did care for Rei more than he should have but he felt good on the inside and began to read the book with a smile plastered underneath his mask.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Get up kid! Kiba will never accept you the way you are now." Ameyuri ordered, standing with one of the Kiba blades while Rei was lying on the floor with the other.

"I never would have thought I would have to get a blade to like me." Rei countered back, wiping the blood from his forehead and standing up again. "But then again look at Samehade." He muttered to him self and rolled his eyes as Ameyuri charged for him again with the lightning imbued blade and Rei activated his chakra and blocked.

"You have stamina kid, I'll give you that." Ameyuri said with a grin as they battled for the upper hand, the blades sounding like lightning as they clashed together, sparks flying everywhere but he had to learn to get use to that as each time he flinched slightly when he heard it.

"But that's not enough." Rei ground out through gritted teeth as he used one of the fangs on the sword to catch the other sword and swing it out of her hand, flipping it up into the sky and looking up at it. They looked down at each other before starting a mad dash up the closest and opposite wall to get to the sword first and that's when Ameyuri began using kunai and lightning jutsus but Rei countered them with the sword, taking in the lightning jutsus and flinging them back at her.

Rei sped up past her, sheathing the sword quickly as the other sword came down again. Ameyuri flipped off of the wall to catch it as Rei whipped out his ninja wire and as it touched Ameyuri's hand, he reeled in the sword, straight into his hand as Ameyuri glared up at him as she landed on the same wall as him and smirked.

"Nice work Rei." She said and Rei blinked at her. She waved for him to follow her down when she began coughing and her chakra slipped and she began to fall off the wall. Rei sheathed the sword with its twin and began running down the wall for her as it had looked like she had passed out. He jumped for her and caught her, twisting them around and throwing a kunai into the wall at the side of them then he clipped the wire onto the belt of his jeans as they began to slow down and Ameyuri hung arched over in his one arm as he controlled their decent.

He landed on the ground and unclipped himself quickly, putting Ameyuri gently on the ground and listening for her heartbeat and her breathing against a kunai. She had pushed it too far that day and she continues to push herself.

They had been training together for eight months already but spending that much time with someone, you could see that she was getting sicker by the day and Rei frowned as he waited for her to wake up again. It happened only once in a while when she would pass out like this but now it was with nearly every training session and he began to wonder if he'd have enough time to finish his training with her before her time.

"What are you sitting around for, get to work." She ordered hoarsely and he looked down to see her breathing harshly still and barely awake.

"What do you mean?" He asked right back and she rolled her eyes with her regular toothy grin.

"What do I mean? Both of the Kiba swords are on your back aren't they?" She asked and he reached over his shoulders to feel both of the blades sitting in their sheaths and humming against his chakra like a purring cat.

"I guess they are." He said, relaxing a little and smiling down at her.

"Well then, I have plenty of time left and now that I don't have to work to get the blades to like you, training you will be a lot easier… Thank god I focused on your kenjutsu first." She said with relief and Rei laughed and stood up with her between his arms as he headed back to their hide out since it will be more than big enough for him training with just the blades and not just all out battles with Ameyuri.

"I'm glad you did and I was surprised to have one of the blades like me almost instantly." Rei said and she hummed.

"They're twins, the blades will sometimes agree or disagree like real twins, it's what makes these swords special." Ameyuri said, her lips curling up at the corners slightly.

"That they are." Rei agreed as he felt the comforting weight of the swords across his back and them purr against his chakra.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Wazzup! Yeah sorry I didn't post yesterday, I really have no excuse for it really but this story is shortly coming to an end soon (cries in a corner) Maybe I'm subconsciously trying to prolong it since this is the first story I've gotten so much support for and it makes me so proud Thanks for being my loyal followers R&R! Chapter twenty-two

Kakashi sighed as it was his day off and the village had been calm for the past few months, leaving action driven shinobi like him hungry for some sort of trouble.

"Are you going to laze there all day Kakashi?" Minato asked from his desk, looking at Kakashi lounged across the whole couch, his head propped up on one side of the old faded red couch.

"I was thinking about it…" Kakashi mused, resting the back of his hand against his hitai-ate and tapping his fingers against his padded flak jacket.

"Well since you're not doing anything, you can go and pick up Naruto from the park for me since it was nice enough of Mikoto to take him with Sasuke today." Minato said, picking up his pen and doing the forever growing paperwork.

"It shouldn't be a problem, I guess I can do it… I heard Itachi will be graduating this year from the academy… Don't you think it's a bit young Sensei?" Kakashi asked, staring at the ceiling absentminded.

"He's perfectly skilled enough and I don't think you should talk about graduating too early mister-one-year-of-academy-and-genin-at-five. Besides, I can't hold him back any longer with Fugaku breathing down my neck since he found out about your sharingan but I can hold his next promotion until the age of ten… Remember, he grew up in the worst time of the war, he knows what's out there… Unfortunately." Minato sighed, feeling guilty about this even after convincing himself earlier.

"I guess you're right… It's not like you're sending him right into a battle field, he'll have time to adjust to the shinobi life for once instead of being thrown into it like my generation." Kakashi sighed boardly and Minato shook his head, feeling a little better about the guilt now that Kakashi agrees.

"You two look way too laid back for an ANBU and the Hokage." Jiraiya's voice joked and Kakashi jumped up eagerly but then sunk back into the couch when he saw Jiraiya was alone.

"Well now that Kumo has issued it's surrender and wants to form an alliance, things are going smoothly for now… So don't jinx it sensei!" Minato complained and Jiraiya laughed.

"All right, all right! Don't get your panties in a twist." Jiraiya said and Minato blushed and glared at his sensei.

"What are you doing back and where's Rei?" Kakashi finally asked and Minato had to hide a smirk, poorly.

"He's been taken off of my hands for a while now and training with someone beneficial to his skills before she passes on. I'll be returning there after my visit here and I'm sure we'll move onto the next phase of his plan then I'm sure he'll be returning to Konoha afterwards… Missing him by any chance Kakashi?" Jiraiya teased and a small blush could be seen over the edge of his mask and Jiraiya raised an eyebrow while Minato had both hands plastered to his mouth and his face red from holding in laughter.

"Who'd you leave him with?" Minato asked after a pregnant silence as he gained his breathing under control again.

"Ringo Ameyuri…" Jiraiya said and they nodded and he waited for the name to sink in.

"Wait… You don't mean 'that' Ringo Ameyuri do you?" Kakashi asked with wide eyes and Minato's face had also blanked with worry.

"Relax, she's no threat to him… We came across her a while back and Rei beat her no problem and you've heard the rumours about her… " Jiraiya said and Kakashi wanted to bang some sense into the pervert's brain.

"Have you lost it Sensei? Those Swordsmen are insane and Kiri wants his head." Minato shouted, standing up with worry written across his face.

"But her head was sought after first and by Rei… Or I mean Chikara first. They may have been enemies in the past but it seems she's taken the motto of 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'." Jiraiya said calmly and Minato groaned, falling back into his chair and holding his head between his hands.

"If anything has happened to him…" Kakashi warned from behind Jiraiya in his ear with killing intent. "I will break you from limb to limb." Kakashi growled as his intent got heavy and then disappeared with his suishin and Jiraiya blinked with confusion and pointed his thumb over his shoulder.

"What's up with him?" Jiraiya asked innocently. Minato blinked before a smirk grew onto his face and he flat out laughed.

"Only you Sensei, only you." Minato laughed, getting back to his work, leaving the confused Jiraiya to his own devices once again.

XXXXXXXXXX

"You're not feeling the blades kid." Ameyuri said bluntly from sitting with a blanket wrapped around her on the floor of the old factory currently being used as their hideout.

"I'm… I'm trying okay but it's hard to feel something that isn't tangible, I'm an ex-ANBU not a dance teacher." Rei said, stopping with his practising to glare at the wall and Ameyuri sighed.

"Okay kid, close your eyes and imagine this…" She said, Rei rolled his eyes and sighed but he closed his eyes and let the blades hang down from his hands next to him. "You're up on somewhere high with an electric storm brewing across where you're looking. Lightning flashes and hit's the ground but you notice it doesn't just go straight down in one bolt…"

"No, it branches off…" Rei said and Ameyuri smiled.

"Correct… Lightning jumps across the sky and down to the ground again, almost like the storm is one entity and hitting multiple targets with lightning… Now how would it move if it was a human with just blades like yours?" She asked and Rei nodded and opened his eyes, sharp like weapons, glinting silver as he focused and the crackle of lightning began on the swords as he began his katas again. "It's both a defence and an offence now if you can combine the two, you'll be almost unstoppable."

Rei could see it now. You have to adapt to the lightning and the blades and not the other way around, act with the lightning otherwise there was no point to a lightning imbued blade. Quick, Fast, Sharp and hit multiple times was the way of the lightning and Rei could feel it now, facing imaginary opponents, his movements became more flowy yet fast and dangerous and the swords turned into the ultimate defence and offence. He loosened his wrists and allowed the blades to swing around in his hands and Ameyuri grinned her toothy grin.

"I'd say you have it Rei." She said and with one solid movement from fighting, he swung them around, ended the lightning and sheathed them in the X-shaped across his back.

"I suppose I earn my name once I accomplish something with you?" Rei asked with a smirk and Ameyuri laughed.

"You catch on quick kid… Now next will be a little more difficult." She said, standing up and wrapping the blanket closer to her as he followed her up the stairs in the old factory. "As I'm sure you know, these blades allow you to conduct lightning and use it in your attacks and defence, that's the Kiba's strongest trait because then it's wielder doesn't use any chakra therefore possibly being able to carry on forever fighting… So in one go, you're going to learn how to conduct and transform the lightning into your attacks and defences" She said as they reached the roof and she sat down under the little cover over the doorway and pointed to a black mat in the middle of the metal roof.

"Are you insane?" Rei whispered out and Ameyuri laughed.

"Well let's put it this way… You're going to get shocked a few times. Try taking the lightning in first and then shooting it right out again and get a feel for it first, then you can move onto storing it and turning it into other jutsus." She said with amusement as she pushed him onto the roof and he walked over to the mat as the storm rumbled.

"If I don't die, it's going to be a miracle." Rei muttered to himself as he stood in a good solid stance and reluctantly held the blades up and the lightning hit them.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jiraiya could see everything falling into place for Rei. The organisation he was after were at their weakest currently and he had all of the information to strike now and he had heard from the kid saying he was just about ready… Which was where Jiraiya was off to now. A good solid year of training with the sword mistress must have done him some good as well as obtaining such amazing swords.

He was admiring the storm when he saw a glint of red off in the distance and saw it was their rendezvous point on fire and he began running for it in case they were in trouble. The closer he got, the more of a blue spec could be seen at the base of the building and he began to grin to himself but kept his speed up, stopping meters away and watching Rei practise with the Kiba.

He could see how loose he was with them and added his own swing to them with a tail of lightning off the edge, almost like whip but as he swung the blade over and behind his head, Jiraiya could see it was more for just attack but rather for defence. Obviously with Ameyuri's short stature she didn't need it as the blades were perfectly long enough for her.

"You've been working hard." Jiraiya said to the barely visible body within the lines of lightning surrounding him from the quick movements of the blades, leaving a trail behind it.

"I have…" Rei said, sheathing his blades onto his back and looking at Jiraiya. Jiraiya could see his eyes were slightly red and nodded.

"Ameyuri lived honourably Rei…" Jiraiya said with understanding and Rei looked away and sniffed as they stayed silent for a while.

"She did…" He whispered. "Now it's time to complete my task." He said, looking back at Jiraiya with determination in his eyes as he began walking in the direction Jiraiya came from.

"And it's the perfect timing because they're here in the Water Country." Jiraiya said with a grin.

"And we're here to help you." Konan said coming out of no where, appearing with a normal looking Nagato, standing up and looking as healthy as he did when Rei first met him.

"You can tell me all of the information along the way." Rei said, breaking out into a run as Jiraiya, Konan and Nagato followed behind, heading for the organisation's hideout there in the Water Country and Jiraiya gave Rei the low down.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: You shall all praise me after this chapter! Why you ask? Well you'll just have to read to find out. R&R my lovelies. Chapter twenty-three

Kakashi hates sentry duty at the gate. It is one of the most boring and tedious jobs ever but his Sensei could be such a bastard some times. Kakashi had been lounging in his office for a while when Minato decided he could lounge elsewhere and do some good at the same time.

Okay, maybe it was partially Kakashi's own fault but who could resist irritating the man. He blew up in some of the most unexpected ways when he had just about enough of Kakashi transforming into Naruto and asking questions about sex, just the way Naruto would do it and when there were people there as well and Kakashi laughed silently at the memory, he would have to do it more often, maybe get Rei to be Sasuke when he gets back and then they could get Minato to blow up quicker, maybe getting him to pass out with too much blood to the head.

He wondered what Rei was doing right then. He still couldn't figure out his feelings for him even with Minato's advice but there was one piece of that advice he couldn't follow right now since he hadn't seen him in what felt like forever.

'_Feel rather than think and let your heart guide you when you see him when he comes back or you'll loose your chance.' _Minato had said to him and he's been trying but it's hard when all you have is a slight fading memory of the barely fifteen-year-old boy. That was just about two years ago. Kakashi sighed and leaned against the guard hut and looked up to see the clouds floating by gently, letting his thoughts drift to the midnight haired male.

"Goofing off there Kakashi?" A voice teased that was a little lighter than his own. Kakashi froze in place stiffly before slowly looking down from where the voice came from and saw the smirking and oh so familiar face that made his heart skip a beat and make his chest hurt… He hadn't realised how much he missed him.

"Rei… It is you right? I didn't fall asleep doing sentry duty… Minato-sensei would kill me." Kakashi said, standing up straight and pinching himself and Rei laughed.

"No, you didn't fall asleep and you're doing it all wrong anyway." He said, stepping up to him and pinching his arm and he hissed with the harsh pinch. "You see, you are awake." Rei said laughing at Kakashi who was rubbing the red skin softly as he pouted under his mask. "Anyway, enough goofing off. I've got to see Minato-sama and Inoichi-san… These kids need some serious help." Rei said, changing his playful demeanour and becoming serious, looking behind him at a group of about ten kids, standing there like robots and Kakashi nodded seriously.

"Right, go right ahead to Sensei's office and I'll find Inoichi-san for you." Kakashi said, jumping off towards the T&I Department while Rei walked to Minato's office with the robotic kids behind him and Jiraiya at the back of the group. Rei knocked at the door after making sure the kids didn't follow him this time and walked in after being called to enter.

"Rei, it's great to see you." Minato said, jumping out of his chair and squeezing him into a hug.

"You too Minato-sama… hello there Naruto…" Rei said gently to the little spikes of yellow sticking up over Minato's desk and Minato laughed. "Anyway… I've come to report my mission a success but I've brought some of the more psychologically damaged children with me to see if Inoichi can do anything. It's taken a huge hit to their consciences and Nagato and Konan don't have the skills or resources to help them." Rei explained and Minato's face became serious.

"Get Inoichi then." Minato said.

"Kakashi's already on it… Did he piss you off that much to earn sentry duty?" Rei asked with a smile and Minato laughed and blushed.

"He kept transforming into Naruto and asking me sex questions when people walked in… I think he deserved it for one day." Minato said laughing with his blush still on his face.

"Genius." Rei said, laughing with Minato.

"I guess those are the children." Inoichi said from the doorway and looking back at the children and Rei turned around to smile at him.

"They are. Thank you so much Inoichi-san… These kids have had it rough and seem a little unbalanced up here." Rei said with concern, tapping his temple and Inoichi nodded with a serious expression and looked to the children again.

"It's hard to believe these kids are so skilled when they're barely older than my own daughter and little Naruto over there…" Inoichi sighed and Rei could see the sympathy as well as pain, Inoichi thinking of his own daughter being in that situation. "I'll do my best Rei and thank you for saving these children, I'll contact you if I need any help. Are you planning on going anywhere that will make it difficult to contact you?" Inoichi asked, writing notes down on a pad.

"No Inoichi-san, I should be around Konoha if the Hokage will have me." Rei said, grinning at Minato who hugged him tightly again and Rei struggled for air.

"Not if I can help it, he'll be around Inoichi and thank you." Minato said and Inoichi turned to the children, said a few orders and walked off with them following him now back to the T&I Department.

"So… Kakashi, what was that about dreaming about me?" Rei called with a smirk to the door since he could sense he was still standing there.

"I-I didn't say anything about dreaming of you specifically. I just thought I was sleeping." Kakashi said, walking in with denial in his step but Minato could see the slight blush over the mask and smirked. "It's good to have you back." Kakashi said and Minato could see that Kakashi had truly missed him in his one dark grey eye, the way his eyelid dropped slightly and his eye almost went liquid grey with a slight sparkle to it. He hadn't seen that look on Kakashi since before his father died.

"Oh, by the way Kakashi, I have a mission for you tonight. I'm sorry about the timing since Rei just got back but you're the only one I trust completely and can see through genjutsu…" Minato said with slight regret to his voice but Kakashi just waved it off.

"It's fine sensei, I understand besides, he'll still be here when I come back." Kakashi said with an eye smile and Minato smiled.

"All right then you two, you're dismissed but you still have gate duty until later Kakashi." Minato said and Kakashi groaned and Rei laughed and patted his back and turned to leave, grinning back at Kakashi.

"Race you there." He said almost silkily and he took off with the stunned Kakashi standing there and blinked before he realised and ran off after him, shouting that he was a cheater while Rei laughed.

Minato sighed happily as he walked around his desk and picked Naruto up who giggled as he sat down with his son. He felt calm and happy now that Rei was back and had done what he set out to accomplish and he had everyone he cares about back in Konoha.

XXXXXXXXXX

"You've gotten quicker." Kakashi said as he jumped down a second after Rei back at the guard hut by the gate.

"Yeah well training with lightning, you learn to dodge quickly, especially with a blood hungry kunoichi with a wicked sense of humour." Rei grinned, leaning back against the desk with his arms crossed and one ankle crossed over the other and Kakashi's eye trailed down him appreciatively. He had definitely changed in the last two years, he wasn't all skinny and lanky anymore but extremely toned and his skin fitted over every muscle like a glove over a string of tight rope… The tight black t-shirt hiding very little. He was a little shorter than Kakashi but he always had been and he doubted Rei would grow much more than where he was now.

The black jeans he was wearing should be burnt. They looked like they had been spray painted on and showed every definition in his legs, up his thighs and around his ass and again covered very little concerning the front and Kakashi swallowed… Maybe Minato is right, Rei is hot. His midnight spikes had tamed over the last two years and was in proportion to his head and he had lost the little fringe he had, going with his hair resting forwards on his head but wasn't long enough to be considered a fringe. And looking into those shining silver eyes was a mistake as Kakashi found out as soon as he met them, reflecting the same emotion shining in his eyes like a mirror, those eyelashes surrounding them just made them pop out at you and framed the beauty of them. He never knew the sex appeal those eyes had before.

"See something you like?" Rei teased and raised an eyebrow with a smirk. He knew it was a dangerous move but by the way Kakashi was looking and studying him told him Kakashi liked him more than just a friend.

"I… I'm not sure." Kakashi said, furrowing his brows and Rei could see defensive emotions swimming around in his grey eye. Rei stood calmly like he had been doing as he saw Kakashi was rooted to the ground stiffly and if he made the wrong move Kakashi may just bolt out of there and no amount of stamina and speed can catch up to a panicked and confused person.

"Well I have something I know you would like to see." Rei said, deciding to change the conversation for now as he unclipped the X-shaped holster over his chest and back and laid it on the desk behind him, unsheathing the twin Kiba blades and tossed one to Kakashi who caught it calmly, seeming more in his element now.

"One of the Seven Swords of Kiri?" Kakashi asked, stepping up next to Rei, examining the blade in his hand.

"The twin blades named Kiba, rumoured to be the sharpest blades around." Rei said, sending his chakra into the blade and Kakashi copied and looked between the blades.

"I can see you've done a lot of chakra control with them, it's more controlled." Kakashi said, reigning in his chakra as Rei's just looked like a thin white layer around the blade and Kakashi's had a huge aura around it and it sparked.

"No, I think it's more the type of person you are that determines how the blades perceive you." Rei said, staring at Kakashi's blade. "I mean, I know it sounds funny but these blades didn't like me at all at first but as I trained with them, they eventually worked with me… You know, almost like the domination with your ninken, you have to show them whose boss." Rei said, smiling at him and Kakashi nodded.

"In the ninja world, I wouldn't be surprised by something like swords with attitude." Kakashi laughed and Rei laughed too as Kakashi handed back the blade. "Well my shift is over and I better get ready for my mission." Kakashi said with a sigh and Rei smiled with sympathy.

"I'll walk you home since I have nothing better to do." Rei said as they began to walk down the streets and Rei clipped his holster back on across his chest, Kakashi's eye following the whole movement. They walked in a companionable silence as they headed to the apartment block and walked up the stairs to Kakashi's door. Kakashi sighed and turned around to face Rei when his back met the wall and his wrists held above his head and his eyes met Rei's smouldering silver ones as he stepped closer to Kakashi, pressing their bodies together and he smiled, shifting his wrists into one hand.

Kakashi swallowed as he felt his fingertips trail down the side of his face before gently hooking into his mask and pulling it down gently, Rei's eyes following the movement of his hand. Kakashi let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding as Rei's silver eyes met his dark grey one again, almost asking for permission and Kakashi leaned forwards. Rei took the hint and tilted his head slightly and his lips met Kakashi's. The kiss ended to soon as it was only a peck and his mask was brought up once again as Rei stepped back, releasing his wrists as they fell to his side and his, once again, cloth covered lips.

"I like you… A lot, Kakashi, so come back in one piece." Rei said, a blush finally hitting his cheeks as he battled to keep Kakashi's shocked gaze.

"I… Plan to." Kakashi said, relaxing his posture and dropping his hand and Rei smiled crookedly.

"Send one of your ninken if you need help." Rei said, turning to walk away when his wrist was grabbed and he was tugged into a cloth covered kiss and a hug straight afterwards.

"I will… And thank you Rei." Kakashi said with an eye smile as he stepped into his apartment and Rei smiled at the closed door before he headed out to find a place to stay and to tell Minato what happened.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter twenty-four

"No way, you kissed him!" Minato said, the next morning, standing up behind his desk, leaning over it with his hands planted on the wood. His blue eyes were wide with a grin huge on his face. Rei was smiling and blushing.

"I did… I think he likes me too since he tugged me in for one more and a hug before I left." Rei admitted with a blush adorning his cheeks and across his nose, which Minato found absolutely adorable.

"Well I hope things work out for you but I can tell you one thing…" Minato teased which caught Rei's attention. "Kakashi hadn't shut up about you since you left and he got that new Icha Icha… I still don't know how he got it way before it was released." Minato muttered and Rei laughed nervously.

"Moving on swiftly Minato-sama but about what you said about keeping me in Konoha… Is it possible for me to become a ninja here now?" Rei asked nervously and Minato smiled.

"We've been talking about you a lot in our meetings… It was reported that only Chikara is a missing nin from Kirigakure and there is no other information about you out there but now the whole story has come out and the organisation you came from has been destroyed and they had proof of everything so you're on a clean slate with no other attachments and brought along our new allies… You've proven to be a valuable asset to Konoha and joined into the Ninja Corps since you came back last night with a completed mission." Minato said, holding out a Konoha hitai-ate to Rei with a smile and Rei blinked with shock, a smile forming on his face as he reached out and took the hitai-ate gently from Minato and smiled down at it.

"Minato…" A gruff voice called and Rei instantly tensed up as the little pug jumped up onto the desk in front of Minato and his face became serious.

"What's happened Pakkun?" Minato asked the pug sitting there tensely.

"I don't know how but Kakashi has been caught and placed under a genjutsu I can't break.. They've been trying to get information out of him as I left." Pakkun explained as calmly as he could.

"Send me out… It's probably my fault he was caught." Rei said seriously and Minato sighed and rubbed his temples.

"How are you with breaking genjutsu? You know I'm not technically suppose to send you out until we've evaluated your skills." Minato said, stress clear on his voice as he stroked Pakkun on his lap now.

"Rei's as good if not better than Kakashi now and you know that Minato." Jiraiya said, popping in through the window.

"I know all of the protocol for genjutsu as well as ANBU classed genjutsu from Kiri, I'll be able to handle it Minato-sama." Rei said and Minato nodded stiffly with a serious expression.

"Very well, this may not be protocol but right now I have a limited choice in ninja and I know you'll be able to handle this mission even if Kakashi's injured. Follow Pakkun back and take out the drug smuggling conduit… It's an ANBU mission so do what you have to and bring our own back." Minato said and Rei nodded, attaching his new hitai-ate to his left shoulder strap and Pakkun jumped onto his shoulder and Rei began heading out.

"It's nice to see you again kid." Pakkun said with his tail wagging and Rei smiled and ruffed up Pakkun's head.

"Good to see you too pug now let's go save your lazy ass pervert of a master before he gives anything away." Rei said, landing at the gates and Pakkun jumped off of his shoulder and into the trees as Rei followed.

Rei knew he was fucked when he entered the campsite and saw the red swirling tomoes of the sharingan eye and he closed his eyes on instinct as he felt a comforting weight back on his shoulder, Kiba already unsheathed and crackling for blood.

"Go, I'll lead." Pakkun said as Rei's other senses perked up and he nodded and Pakkun began 'seeing' for Rei as he unleashed his lightning upon the people in the campsite in broad daylight.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi shivered in the genjutsu as he felt the cool white chakra pass through him and he opened his eyes to see Rei looking down at him in worry. His head lulled with the after effects of the genjutsu but he managed to focus enough to stand up after his bonds were released. His arm was slung over Rei's shoulders and his mind finally focused on his surroundings. He was in a tent and outside he could see the flicker of flames in the night sky and his eyes turned to Rei next to him and he felt guilty. He had been so busy figuring things out with his emotions he didn't focus on the mission and was caught by an Uchiha specialty genjutsu.

His heart did leap though because he sent his ninken out with him when he got in trouble and like Rei said, he came to help him out even if he was the cause of him getting caught in the first place. If his body didn't feel so numb from the genjutsu he'd be helping Rei out right now as he used Kiba connected at the hilt like a staff and cut down a path as another paper bomb went off somewhere, another stash of the drugs gone with the explosion.

"That Uchiha's been arrested by the way." Rei said to Kakashi as he helped him through the destroyed and deserted campsite apart from a few bodies lying here and there with no blood but Kakashi could spot the entry wounds done by lightning.

"Good to know, then the Uchiha won't be able to complain… Are you okay?" Kakashi asked him as he was set down on the ground gently and Rei sat down in front of him, separating Kiba and sheathing them. Rei looked extremely tired and to take out a camp like that must have taken a toll on his chakra already. His shirt was ripped under the X-shaped holster and he could see some angry and bleeding scratched across his pecs and washboard abs as Rei dabbed them with an alcohol soaked cloth.

"How did you get ANBU supplies?" Kakashi asked, damning the genjutsu for weakening his resolve and speaking what came to mind and bothered him the most.

" I was given an ANBU pack before I came… How are you?" Rei asked, his voice harsh and focused at the moment. Kakashi watched how focused he was as he never flinched from the alcohol touching his wounds and he ripped away the rest of his shirt from underneath his holsters.

"I'm fine but these side effects from the genjutsu make me feel like a legless drunk." Kakashi complained, rubbing his legs to try to feel them. Rei laughed quietly at that comment before looking back up, finished with addressing the slightly more serious wounds.

"We're not out of the woods yet though and my chakra is low already but I'm hoping this storm is pushing up quicker than it looks." Rei said, looking through a gap in the trees above them, rubbing his hands together.

"How long have you been going for? I know you, you don't run out of chakra easily." Kakashi said, reaching forwards, stopping him from the nervous gesture and nearly flinched at how cold Rei's hands were as he studied the dulling weapon like eyes.

"Since early this morning. Pakkun helped me out with the Uchiha and after that I was on my own and pushed through. They're on high alert and a well thought out syndicate like this will have ensured our escape routes are blocked off so we'll have to push through again… Are you up for it?" Rei asked seriously as Kakashi tried to warm his hands up with his own.

"What are you planning?" Kakashi asked with a glint to his eye and Rei smirked.

"One of my crazy plans like usual." He said and Kakashi nodded and they stood up and headed out slowly since Kakashi still felt a little legless. Like Rei said, their one escape rout was secure but they had already been seen and Rei took out Kiba again while Kakashi used his standard issue katana he had with his ANBU uniform. Luckily enough, the storm was far enough forwards for Rei to use the lightning but he had to cover Kakashi a lot since he still felt drunk and couldn't focus properly. Kakashi could see how impossible the situation was once they mobilized their forces and was also tiring in his stamina while Rei kept going, hitting multiple opponents at a time.

Rei turned to see Kakashi having his legs swept out from under him and a kunai poised to kill when he threw one of the Kiba swords that struck the man in the neck and he died as Kakashi rolled out of the way, retrieving the sword and making his way over to Rei who was eyeing his next round of opponents waiting in the shadows.

"We'll run out of steam at this rate." Kakashi said, standing back to back with Rei and still holding his katana and one of the Kiba swords.

"No, everything's going according to plan… How much chakra do you have left?" Rei asked, breathing heavily against Kakashi's back and Kakashi could feel Rei's muscles shaking from exertion.

"Quite a bit but you don't so what ever your crazy plan is I suggest you do it soon." Kakashi stressed as he could feel the shadows becoming tense and ready to strike. The next thing Kakashi knew was the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he got a cold shiver down his spine but at the same time, trees were ripped apart and you could hear screams and shouts of terror in the destruction before it went quiet and confusion set out within the darkness.

"Give me as much chakra as you can." Rei panted out and Kakashi complied immediately as he could feel Rei was barely standing still and pressed his back against Rei's as a more electric sounding pulse seemed to go out like the white lightning did but this time there was the scent of blood and silence.

"What the hell just happened?" Kakashi asked and he felt weak laughter as they turned to face each other.

"See… Crazy plan." Rei whispered before his eyes rolled back and his knees gave out and Kakashi caught him quickly with shock and worry. Kakashi lowered them gently to the ground and laid Rei on the ground to see he was barely still conscious and breathing heavily. Kakashi took Kiba and sheathed them into their holster before he sheathed his katana and picked Rei up between his arms and carried him somewhere they could rest safely for the night and recover a little.

"What exactly did you do?" Kakashi asked knowing he was still awake but just exhausted.

"I sent out the wave of my chakra that cleared the path of objects as well as passing through the people who thought they had been attacked when I just used the lightning to pinpoint their location and create a conductor for the next wave which killed them in a flash as they were conductors and the lightning's path was clear as they were still confused and open." Rei explained in a whisper and Kakashi smiled and shook his head.

"That was insanely genius… By the way, what rank did you make?" Kakashi asked down at him and found Rei's silver eyes bright and open as he looked back up at Kakashi.

"I left before the test so I still don't know." Rei grinned back up at him with slightly lidded eyes with exhaustion and Kakashi laughed.

"You sneaky bastard… But I know you'll make jonin easily, maybe even ANBU." Kakashi said as he sat down in a small yet shallow cave and set Rei sitting in between his legs and wrapped his arms around his chest and Rei leaned back and closed his eyes with a blush gracing his cheeks slightly.

"I've had my fair share of ANBU, I'll be happy as a regular jonin thanks." Rei muttered before he yawned and fell asleep against Kakashi.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Hello my lovelies! Guess what? It's a double post! YAY! Anyway i had to post these two chapters together so get ready for some Kakashi and Rei fluffiness! (squeals in a corner). Just to let you know there's only two more chapters after this and then an epilogue... IT'S SO SAD! I know but all good things come to an end unfortunately. I just wanted to thank everyone who has found and followed this story and such, this has been my most sucessful story so far and i'll never forget all of the lovely comments i have received on this story, it makes me want to continue to write so thank you all, you are all wonderful people! Okay enough with the mushy stuff and onwards to the fluffiness!

Chapter twenty-five

Kakashi woke up swaying forwards and backwards before his 'hang over' hit him and he turned into the current heat against his body. He knew he was being carried like the damsel in distress and he knew that he was in Rei's arms but could he care right then? No. He felt like he had a hard drinking night and he felt cold and Rei was nice and warm… Warm… Rei's hands were ice cold the night before. He turned out of the heat a little and pried his eye open to look up at Rei's face focused ahead on walking.

"Morning… How are you feeling?" Rei asked, looking down at him with a slight smile.

"Like I've had a whole night of drinking contests with Guy." Kakashi whined out and Rei flinched with sympathy.

"Ouch… That bad huh?" He asked and Kakashi nodded carefully. "How about the rest of you?" He asked with concern, focusing ahead again.

"In one piece like I promised." Kakashi said with an eye smile and he saw Rei blush but he smiled. "So… How much is a lot?" Kakashi asked him and he looked down with confusion and furrowed eyebrows before shifting him carefully in his arms.

"A lot?" He asked, stopping in his steps and then his eyebrows slowly rose in realisation and his blush deepened and spread across the bridge of his nose and he avoided Kakashi's gaze but his head was still tilted to see him. "Enough to ask if you'd go out on a date with me and maybe kiss you… Properly this time." He said with apprehension and in a whisper but it was enough to make Kakashi smile and shift out of his hold carefully to stand up.

"Well I suppose I could spare my rescuer one date but about that kiss…" Kakashi began cheekily and Rei watched him carefully with a guarded expression because it sounded like his feelings were being played with. He was pleasantly surprised to see Kakashi pull down his mask and snake his arm around his waist, pulling him closer as he smirked at Rei, his other hand gently gripping his chin and he pressed his lips to Rei's and Kakashi smirked when Rei's eyes closed and he leaned against Kakashi, melting into the contact. Kakashi felt tentative hands slide up over his armoured chest, across his collarbones, around his shoulders and he shivered as blunt fingernails gently ran across the back of his neck to fist gently into his silver hair at the base of his neck.

Kakashi closed his eyes as he let his hand travel from his chin and to the nape of his neck and massaged him and Rei pressed up more against him with a slight moan into the chaste kiss and grip a little harder in his hair. Kakashi tilted his head slightly and nipped at his lip, slowly parting them with pressure until he could slip his tongue in the hot and sweet cavern and let himself give out a little moan of approval as his tongue collided with Rei's and it wrapped around his own and stroked it sensually.

Rei felt like his nerves and skin was on fire. He'd never done this with anyone before so he let Kakashi lead. His grip around him was just as gentle and strong as the time Kakashi caught him in the hospital and it made his heart skip a beat as his chest began to burn with need for air. He tilted his head forwards, reluctantly breaking the kiss and rested his forehead against Kakashi's for a second as he gained his breath back. Kakashi reluctantly opened his eyes to see an internal battle happening with Rei, his brows were furrowed almost painfully as his eyes darted behind closed lids and his mouth was in a thin line, bruised from the kiss. Kakashi's eyes travelled back up to his eyes and saw tears beginning and one fell down his face and Kakashi swallowed the panic rising in his throat, pushing the squeezing feeling in his heart out of the way as he rubbed circles on the back of his neck with his thumb.

A gasped sob came from his lips as his eyes were squeezed shut and his body began to shiver and shake against Kakashi's and it clicked for him. It was the beginning signs of a break down and all good shinobi had one every now and again or they weren't considered 'healthy' but how long had Rei been holding his in? For too long as Kakashi pulled him into a hug and held him comfortably tight and shut his eyes at the pained whimpers and cries being let out by his new obsession, his new important person… His love… Kakashi sunk into him and tried to curl around the breaking person in his arms as realisation hit him for the first time that he really and truly cared for Rei both body and soul. It was a scary thought but oddly comforting as he held him, bearing his burden with him like the shinobi code states.

Kakashi's thoughts about Rei were finally agreeing with his feelings and it made him smile slightly as he pressed a kiss against Rei's cheek and shushed him gently, rubbing his back. Rei's sobs died down after a while and his breathing evened out as he still kept his eyes hidden against the crook of Kakashi's neck and he continued to rub his back and hold him.

"Are you feeling better now?" Kakashi asked in a low voice and Rei nodded gently against his shoulder before raising his head gently, looking down but Kakashi still held him in the circle of his arms and Rei had his hands on Kakashi's shoulders tentatively.

"I… I don't know what just happened…" He mumbled hoarsely and Kakashi just rubbed under his eyes gently with his thumb.

"It's called a break down…" Kakashi explained and Rei's eye met his with confusion. "The best get them but it just shows your human and have remorse over what you do, it's perfectly normal after a situation like that, another reason that shinobi are put into teams so they can help each other emotionally." Kakashi explained and Rei nodded with a slight confused look on his face.

"I've never had one before… It was such a strange feeling and I freaked out a little after the kiss I guess…" Rei muttered with a blush peaking behind his already reddened cheeks and Kakashi laughed silently, running his hand through Rei's hair.

"You've had to ignore your feelings for so long that you probably didn't realise you could feel like this… Loosing your memory was a good thing." Kakashi said, smiling at him as he rested his forehead back against Rei's.

"We need to get back to Konoha soon before they send out reinforcements and find us like this." Rei said with a deep and shaky breath but Kakashi could see he was feeling a lot better by his eyes. Kakashi nodded and stood up straight again, pulling up his mask and straightening his uniform and saw Rei was standing there tentatively, a look of thought on his face. Kakashi eye smiled as he took Rei's hand in his and pulled him to walk with him and Rei smiled and followed with Kakashi back to Konoha.

XXXXXXXXXX

"It's good to see both of you in one piece." Minato said, not looking up from his paperwork as Kakashi and Rei entered the office.

"Thank you Minato-sama." Rei said and the man looked up smiling at them with a knowing grin and Rei blushed and looked away. Kakashi saw the look in his sensei's eye and laughed, slinging his arm over Rei's shoulders.

"So… Now that you're both here and safe, you should go to the hospital and get those wounds looked at." Minato said, eyeing Rei and Kakashi nodded with a hum of agreement.

"I'm fine, they've been treated with the pack you gave me before I left, they just need a few days to heal and it'll be fine." Rei said with little panic, trying to convince them that he truly was all right.

"I wouldn't quite call dousing them in alcohol treated properly…" Kakashi said, smirking under his mask as he flipped Rei up into his arms and held him while he tried to struggle out of Kakashi's arms, with a full on blush and Minato laughed. "If you continue to struggle, I'll throw you over my shoulder." Kakashi threatened down to him and he ended his struggling and rested in Kakashi's arms with a pout with his blush and his arms crossed like a naughty kid.

"Alright Kakashi, I'll leave you to take him to the hospital to get your wounds checked out and Rei I have your test booked for tomorrow at noon at training ground 7. Dismissed you two." Minato said, laughing as Kakashi turned around happily and began walking out his office with a grumpy Rei in his arms.

"You can put me down now Kakashi." Rei whined and Kakashi laughed.

"Just so you can run away, I don't think so. Besides, where will you run to, you don't even have a place to stay?" Kakashi asked and Rei's mood instantly dropped. "Where exactly did you stay the night before last?" Kakashi asked and Rei turned his head to looked ahead of them.

"Nowhere, don't worry about it Kakashi." Rei said defensively and Kakashi stopped walking in the middle of the crowded street where they were getting a few odd looks.

"If you didn't have somewhere, you could have asked to stay in my apartment while I went on that mission, not sleep out in the forest or somewhere." Kakashi scolded gently and Rei looked down before meeting his gaze.

"Yeah, after I kissed you, 'Oh hey I don't have a place to stay, can I loiter around in your apartment while you're not here?' Yeah, that would have worked out well." Rei said with dark sarcasm and Kakashi laughed hard, eyes closing with amusement.

"I see what you mean now… Still though, where are you planning to stay?" Kakashi asked as he carried on walking.

"I'll survive until I know my rank and get my first mission… I can't exactly stay with my ex and Naruto needs his own room now plus as I recall you saying 'You see I would do it but I only have a one bedroom apartment and not even a couch for someone to sleep on plus I'm always away.'" Rei mocked in a deep voice, trying to imitate Kakashi and Kakashi laughed sheepishly with a blush under his mask.

"Well you had no apprehension that night before you left… Sharing a bed with me." Kakashi asked down at him, raising an amused eyebrow as Rei went red.

"Yeah well I was a bit confused back then." Rei mocked and laughed with Kakashi even though he was still blushing. They reached the hospital quickly with an easy atmosphere around them and Rei sat comfortably in Kakashi's arms, giving up fighting him on it. Rei watched with confusion as some of the nurses were blushing and whispering to each other with squeals as they watched him and Kakashi pass down the hallways of the hospital and really wondered why they were acting like that. Kakashi finally set Rei on his feet when they entered the room and made sure Rei sat and waited on the bed for the medic to come and check him out even though he was all right except the usual cuts and bruises from a fight.

"So… I hear the brat's back?" Tsunade asked with a grin as she walked in with the usual clipboard in her hand and Rei smiled.

"Good to see you too Tsunade-sama." Rei greeted and let Tsunade check over his skin and heal his wounds perfectly while he watched with fascination. "I don't see why you waste your chakra on healing something that will disappear in a few days." Rei wondered out loud.

"We like to help our fellow comrades of Konoha out after a tough mission so they can enjoy their time off afterwards so just deal with it for another minute brat." Tsunade said sternly and Rei pouted.

"I was just wondering… It's odd to me in a way when in my memory I've never had such minor wounds needing to be healed before that's all Tsunade-sama, I didn't mean to insult you." Rei said just as sternly back and Tsunade smirked at his attitude.

"Apology accepted… Now go home and get some rest, I hear Minato is going to put you some tough crap tomorrow so be prepared." Tsunade said, walking back out of the room, actually smiling and Rei breathed a sigh.

"I wouldn't put it past Minato-sama to give me an impossible test tomorrow, just to see how far he can push me." Rei said, standing up and stretching appreciatively.

"That is what Sensei enjoys doing." Kakashi said distractedly, watching how Rei stretched, the muscles shifting under his skin since he lost his shirt the day before.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter twenty-six

"So about that place to stay… Come stay with me if you don't mind sharing a bed…" Kakashi said suddenly, smirking behind his mask as Rei froze mid stretch and a blush deepened on his face as he relaxed and faced Kakashi with slightly widened eyes.

"I um… I…" Rei began, stuttering and Kakashi laughed, walking up to him and pulling him against him by his X-shaped straps across his chest.

""Say yes…" Kakashi whispered in his ear. "I'll even get a bigger bed since mine may be a little… Small for the both of us." Kakashi continued to whisper in Rei's ear with a smirk as he could feel Rei's body heating up with that blush.

"Couldn't you just get a second bed…" Rei said back, sounding like he had swallowed sand paper after swallowing and Kakashi smiled, his breathing hard and fast against Kakashi's fists.

"What fun would that be if you decide to 'share' with me one night… I definitely think a bigger bed would be better." Kakashi said back, pressing his mask covered lips against the shell of his ear and Rei whimpered and leaned against Kakashi a little. Rei couldn't breath yet alone think as his eyes kept falling shut against his command, if only Kakashi knew how his low voice effected the fire burning in Rei's groin and his thought process.

"I… I guess." Rei whispered back and he could feel Kakashi smile against his ear before pulling his body away from Rei's but left his hands fisting his straps across his chest just to hold him up.

"Let's go choose out our bed right now." Kakashi said with an evil smile to his voice as Rei came back to himself and glared at Kakashi.

"You're a real bastard you know that?" Rei said with annoyance and Kakashi eye smiled at him.

"True but you can't resist me." Kakashi said cheekily and Rei smiled.

"Unfortunately not." Rei said and Kakashi laughed and began walking out with Rei close behind.

XXXXXXXXXX

"You look tired this morning Rei…" Minato said with worry at training ground 7 and Rei sighed.

"Yeah, I only got some sleep this morning before I got up for the test." Rei said and Minato laughed.

"Rough night?" He asked again with an eyebrow raised and Rei stumbled in his step and blushed.

"Not the type of night you're thinking of Minato-sama." He said in outrage and Minato laughed.

"Alright, alright." Minato said with defence, still laughing. "Anyway I'll be giving you five separate tests to test you one for Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Kenjutsu and an all out battle with anyone you go up against in the previous rounds. Which do you want first?" Minato asked, switching all seriously again.

"I'll take genjutsu first." Rei said and Minato nodded and stood calmly with his arms crossed. Kunai flew at him through the trees and Rei jumped out of the way with a kunai in his hand, crouched on his haunches, examining his surroundings. The ground rumbled underneath him as he jumped up, a snake burst forth from the ground and he held his hands together in the ram seal, focusing his chakra and released the genjutsu.

"Well done… When did you realise it was a genjutsu?" Minato asked Rei to find he hadn't moved from their spots.

"Just after the kunai attack…" Rei said and Minato nodded in thought.

"Come on out Kurenai, you did well... What do you want next?" Minato asked as a girl around his age walked out with black hair and red eyes stood next to Minato.

"Kenjutsu." Rei said and unsheathed Kiba as a guy about his age as well walked out, wearing the standard uniform, his hitai-ate as a bandanna and chewing on a senbon came out, holding a katana already stood ready and Rei copied. Minato raised his hand and dropped it, signalling the start of the match. Rei fought in turning and flowing motions as the twin blades swirled in his hands and met against the katana non-stop until he managed to catch the katana and held his second blade against his opponents neck and Minato called for a stop.

"You're kenjutsu is excellent. You did well as well Genma." Minato patted the young man on his back.

"Taijutsu." Rei said as he sheathed Kiba and stood in his stance as Guy came out and copied with a grin and Minato dropped his hand again as Guy charged forwards. Rei quickly found out that Guy had pure strength and his attacks were heavy and hard and so he decided to dodge than go head to head with him and attack when he had an advantage. Guy was too quick and swept Rei's legs out from under him and knelt one knee to his breastbone with a punch ready to hit him and Minato called it.

"Nice fight, I haven't seen anyone go head to head easily with Guy since Kakashi… Good. Next is ninjutsu. Begin." Minato said with a smile and Rei stood defensively waiting for the first possible attack. He managed to jump in time to miss the pack of ninken snapping at his feet and Rei grinned as he landed on a tree. He ducked a split second before the lightning flashing over his head and found where Kakashi was with a grin, attacking with the grand fireball jutsu which Kakashi dodged by landing on the ground and moving as Rei's keen silver eyes followed the shadowed movements.

The four different elements Kakashi threw at him were met by the three Rei knew be it it's weakness or the exact same jutsu with the same amount of power, if not stronger. Kakashi tired quickly, using his sharingan, copying things Rei knew that he didn't and Kakashi landed on the water as the sun began going down, breathing hard and resting his hands on his knees, looking for where Rei would attack next. What he didn't expect was to be whisked up in a cyclone of water and to be unceremoniously dropped by Minato's feet on his face and his knees pulled up with Minato packing out into laughter, holding his stomach and crying with laughter.

"So… Not funny… Sensei…" Kakashi huffed out and Minato laughed harder, doubling over a little.

"Well that's definitely a suggestive position." Rei's voice came across the field and Kakashi blushed under his mask and scrambled to sit on his ass and pouted.

"Shut up and claim your victory." Kakashi whined back as Rei jumped out of a tree, walking over to them and smiling.

"You definitely win that round Rei… Now the all out fight, if you're still up for it?" Minato teased and Rei smirked making Minato regret saying something but he wasn't sure what though.

"I am but I don't think the person I want to challenge is." Rei said, looking down at Kakashi with his hands on his hips and Kakashi sat back, resting on his arms and looked away.

"I forfeit, I'd go down in a few seconds after the pervious round… How the hell do you have so much stamina?" Kakashi asked as he grabbed Rei's hand and he was pulled up.

"Very well then. I've been watching you as well as some hidden people who have been watching and we've come to a decision… You're at ANBU captain level, maybe even Kage but since the latter position is filled…" Minato said grinning and Rei smiled while Kakashi rolled his eyes. "You can have special jonin rank and join ANBU if you wish to." Minato said with a smile and Rei smiled back.

"Special jonin is perfect… I think I'm over the whole ANBU thing if that is okay with you Minato-sama?" Rei asked and Minato ruffled his hair roughly.

"Of coarse it's okay… I'll have the paperwork done tonight and then you can start missions tomorrow… Or maybe the day after that if Kushina doesn't drag me from my desk again." Minato said with a sigh, shoulder's drooping and Rei laughed with Kakashi.

"You can relax tonight, I really don't mind one more day off Minato-sama so don't stress." Rei said, patting him on the back as Rei's other opponents all said their farewells and left as Minato, Kakashi and Rei walked back together to the village with the sky looking orange with the sunset.

"How about we go on that date as a celebration?" Kakashi whispered into Rei's ear and he shivered and grinned as Minato slowly slipped away from the couple with a grin as he set on home. "My treat of coarse." Kakashi added in a low voice as he walked normally next to Rei while Rei's face flushed.

"Well it is a little overdue but I'm sure I could fit it in with my busy schedule." Rei said back cheekily and Kakashi smiled as he could see Rei was beginning to get bolder with his feelings.

"You have no idea what you do to me." Kakashi said, wrapping a possessive hand around Rei's waist and pulled him closer to him until it looked like they were joined at the hip.

"I know perfectly well because the feeling's mutual Ka-ka-shi." Rei said, drawling his name out as he wrapped his own arm across Kakashi's back, talking lowly into his ear and he felt Kakashi growl under his arm and he smirked before facing forwards again like nothing happened.

"Can't I just have you for dinner?" Kakashi whined and Rei laughed.

"That would be cannibalism so no… Let's go for barbeque since you're in the mood for meat." Rei said, stepping out of Kakashi's hold purposefully with a smirk as Kakashi jogged to catch up and bumped him lightly with his elbow where they both smiled.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So… Who's going to be uke?" Kakashi asked, smirking as he put a piece of meat in his mouth and watched Rei's face turn red for the hundredth time that night as he coughed and drank down some water.

"I refuse to talk about that here Kakashi now stop with all the innuendo's because I'd like to focus on my food instead of jumping you right here." Rei said out sternly when someone stopped next to their table.

"Oh. My. God." They both looked up stiffly to see Rin standing stiffly, shock clear on her face and Kakashi eye smiled at her.

"Yo Rin. I haven't seen you for a while, how have you been?" Kakashi asked easily and Rei had gone pale.

"Yeah it's uh… Good to see you too… I never knew you two had a 'thing' going on?" Rin asked, sitting on the open row of seating since Kakashi was sitting next to Rei.

"It's still new but this had been simmering for a while, ne Rei-kun?" Kakashi asked sweetly and Rei swallowed and blinked, nodding.

"Yeah… It um, it has… I'm sorry Rin that things worked out this way." Rei said, looking down and feeling guilty. His face was grabbed gently and forced to look up at Rin's smiling face.

"No, I should apologise… Plus you two make the sexiest couple I have ever seen." Rin said, grinning and resisting the urge to squeal and Rei tilted his head in confusion.

"I've been getting that look a lot… Can you explain it to me?" Rei asked innocently and Rin grinned.

"Like I said, you two are both hot, not to mention going out with each other plus it's easy to see who's the uke here and it's adorable, don't ask me why." She said, shrugging like it was the most simplest thing in the world and Rei gapped with wide eyes.

"Well, now we have our answer." Kakashi laughed while he let Rei recover and began a conversation with Rin.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: OMG this is the long awaited for Yaoi lemon between Rei and Kakashi (Squeals in a little corner) If you're not into this skip the chapter and wait for the next one. R&R PLEASE!

Chapter twenty-seven

The rest of the evening went smoothly as Rin sat and chatted with Kakashi and Rei easily like they use to and it made everything all right in Kakashi's world again. Almost everything but Rei was currently walking with his eyes down, heading back to Kakashi's apartment.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi finally asked as they reached his apartment door and Rei froze in mid step and Kakashi watched his Adams apple bob with a swallow. Rei turned and faced him, walking up to him and placing his head against the crook of Kakashi's neck, taking a deep breath and Kakashi just waited.

"I'm what's wrong… I've never felt like this…" Rei breathed and Kakashi could feel him almost vibrating against him.

"Is it what I've been saying?" Kakashi asked carefully and Rei picked his head up and looked at Kakashi, straight in the eye.

"You make me crazy." Rei said in a deep puff of air. Those steel eyes were smouldering and Kakashi swallowed as he found his back up against the same wall and hands against his stomach as he looked up to see Rei's chest breathing heavily.

"Right back at you… Let's get inside first." Kakashi said, gently removing Rei's hands as he turned to unlock the door and they both stepped inside and toed off their shoes. Kakashi had taken Rei's hand and led him silently through his apartment to their bedroom and closed the door behind them.

"Is this really what you want?" Kakashi asked, squeezing Rei's hand gently in his gloved one. He saw Rei was staring at the bed and then he smiled and turned to Kakashi with an evil grin, making Kakashi shiver.

"Yes…" He whispered, eyes darkening and becoming as sharp as weapons as he unzipped Kakashi's flak jacket, with the same fluid movement he untucked Kakashi's shirt and ran his hand along the soft and milky spance of skin. Kakashi sucked in a breath at the feel of Rei's rough and calloused hands running along his washboard abs, all the way to his collarbone and back to the edge of his pants.

"Well then, you'll have to answer my earlier question." Kakashi teased, pulling off his hitai-ate and mask, smirking at the already lust lost Rei.

"I think Rin answered it for us already." Rei said, both hands against Kakashi's stomach as he leaned forwards and nuzzled his neck.

"I want to hear it from you." Kakashi whispered into his ear as he placed his hands on Rei's hips, holding his control in as his breathing sped up.

"I want you…" Rei began, pulling some skin in between his teeth and holding it. "To fuck me…" He added with the skin between his teeth before he let it go. One hard and aroused growl escaped Kakashi's throat before Rei felt hands on his ass and gave each globe a squeeze, being lifted up against Kakashi as he hooked his knees around Kakashi's hips and Kakashi attacked Rei's lips in a rough kiss, holding nothing back. Rei had to move his hands from Kakashi's skin with a slight whine to wrap his arms around Kakashi's shoulders to balance himself before he felt them dip and the soft mattress of their new king sized bed come into contact with his back but not loosing contact with Kakashi as he slipped off his gloves and threw them somewhere.

Kakashi unclipped the straps across Rei's chest and broke the kiss long enough to remove that and his skin tight shirt before returning to his kiss bruised lips and delving back into the sweet cavern with his tongue meeting the other one. Rei's legs tightened almost painfully around Kakashi's waist as he let himself be pulled against Rei's body and feel Rei's hardness rubbing up against his. Rei broke the kiss and cursed, digging his fingertips into Kakashi's shoulders and Kakashi grabbed his hips and stilled him with a keening whine and moan from Rei.

"Calm down, relax." Kakashi said softly as he kissed Rei's lips gently. Rei returned it enthusiastically but slow as he pushed Kakashi's flak jacket down to his wrists where Kakashi threw it across the room and Rei could continue to thrust up into Kakashi. He growled and bit Rei's lip, Kakashi stilled as he shivered with the hairs on his neck standing up, feeling his shirt sliding off of him in pieces and looked down at Rei's face to see his eyes were half way lidded and he was almost smirking satisfactory with ridding Kakashi of his shirt. Kakashi smiled and shook his head as Rei's rubbing against him had fallen into a steady rhythm and Kakashi responded back with the rhythm, placing his lips against the skin on Rei's collarbone as he ran his hands up Rei's heaving sides and ribs, feeling every dip of muscles and scars, especially the one he left on him and caressed it with little circles against his skin.

Kakashi bit his skin with a whine when he felt Rei's calloused and warm hands sliding along his pecs and down his stomach, feeling him back as they explored each other, the moonlight filtering through the window being the only light they needed. Kakashi sucked on his pulse point and Rei clutched a hand gently into Kakashi's hair and on his hip as his rhythm faltered and he arched his back so he could meet Kakashi's chest with his own. Kakashi continued to suck and left a mark, keeping his thrusting of his hips down into Rei's body steady as Rei whined and whimpered, fingers clenching and unclenching. Rei whined when Kakashi pulled himself away and off of the bed slowly and watched through dazed eyes with confusion and Kakashi just smiled at him.

"Wait here… I'll be right back." He said quickly, trying to calm the panic beginning to appear in Rei's eyes. Rei pushed himself up onto his elbows and watched Kakashi disappear down into the hall and came back a little while later with a small bottle in his hand and lay back down next to Rei, pulling him by the nape of his neck into a slow and deep kiss.

"Where'd you go?" Rei asked and Kakashi smiled and kissed his forehead.

"To get some lube, didn't want our first time to be sore and uncomfortable." Kakashi said, distractedly nibbling on Rei's earlobe while he blushed at the previous comment. Rei hummed and leaned towards Kakashi, closing his eyes as Kakashi's hand wandered down his sides and dipped into the waistband of his jeans, caressing the skin there. Kakashi rolled Rei onto his back and straddled him as his hands worked on the button and zip on Rei's jeans while Rei's hands slide across Kakashi's taut skin. Rei hissed when his aching erection sprung free and he arched his back with his hips twitching slightly and Kakashi smiled, pulling the rest of Rei's clothes all the way off before sliding back onto the bed.

"You're so beautiful Rei…" Kakashi whispered in awe as he ran a hand up and down Rei's thighs, examining his body, taking in the sight with both his sharingan and normal eye, lowering his head to Rei's hip and nipped at the skin there as Rei sucked in a breath and stiffened with the pleasure of torture.

When Kakashi's hand finally wrapped around Rei's throbbing and not so small cock, Rei moaned brokenly and attached his hands into the sheets below him, trying not to thrust up into that glorious calloused hand giving him pleasure he had never really tried on himself before, he'd usually just take a cold shower for it but this was ten times better and he wondered why he never let himself have this slice of pleasure before. Kakashi nibbled along Rei's groin and clenching wash board stomach a little more defined than his own and relished in the whimpers Rei was letting out as his muscles stayed clenched up so he didn't buck into his hand that was running up and down his length torturously slow.

Rei spread his legs slightly and brushed against Kakashi's arousal hard in his pants and he growled with a groan, running his hand from Rei's cock down to his heavy balls and played with them a little as Rei moaned and arched into the ministrations. Kakashi reached for the previously discarded lube with his free hand as he nipped so close to Rei's straining cock as he keened and whined for Kakashi to move lower, pouring a generous amount of lube onto his fingers that were playing with Rei's body before. Kakashi loved watching Rei's flushed face twist in absolute pleasure as he tortured him and spread his legs wider, slipping his lubbed hand in between Rei's tight cheeks and Rei jumped with surprise when Kakashi prodded the tight puckered hole and gripped his hip to hold him there while Rei got use to the feeling. Kakashi saw those shining silver eyes looking down at him as he leaned up on his elbows and Kakashi smiled up at him before leaning up and kissing him deeply, looking into his beautiful silver eyes that glowed with the moonlight.

"This might be a little uncomfortable and sore but I promise I'll be as gentle as possible… I love you Rei." Kakashi said, kissing Rei again as he slipped one finger in carefully and slowly until Rei clamped down on it. "Relax as much as you can and I promise it won't hurt and you'll get use to the feeling." Kakashi husked and Rei nodded before lying back on his back, breathing deeply as his muscles relaxed and Kakashi proceeded up to the last knuckle and swirled his finger around for Rei to get use to the feeling. Kakashi slowly introduced the second finger and Rei hissed as his muscles clenched and unclenched and Kakashi groaned, resting his head on Rei's stomach, he was so hard it wasn't funny but he knew he had to be careful and slow but Rei wasn't making it any easier. Kakashi raised his head and saw Rei's red cock leaking pre cum, running down his length and Kakashi groaned again as he engulfed the angry organ with his mouth. Rei gasped and moaned brokenly, clenching at the sheets and arching his back up away from the bed and Kakashi hummed making Rei scream as he came hard into Kakashi's mouth. Kakashi choked a little bit but managed to swallow the whole load, releasing the softening cock from his mouth with a plop and a grin.

"What… What was that?" Rei asked, out of breath, looking down at the smirking Kakashi.

"That my love…" Kakashi began, licking up the half hard organ that twitched and Rei whimpered, throwing his head back slightly. "Was an orgasm… You've never had one before?" Kakashi asked, using the distraction to insert his third finger, stretching him further for something bigger.

"N-No, I just usually have a cold shower like I've been taught back with the organisation." He said with a bit of sadness before smiling. "But now that I know how good that feels, it's bye-bye cold showers." He said with a grin and then dropped back to the bed with an unusual loud shout and Kakashi froze before he felt the plushy little bump he was pressing his fingers against and prodded further, curling his fingers and Rei shouted Kakashi's name and Kakashi smirked before pulling his fingers out and pumping Rei's cock a few more times back to it's full hardness.

Kakashi got off the bed and stood up, sliding his pants down with a moan as his hard and angry cock finally sprang free and he stood up again, relishing in the feeling with his back arched slightly as Rei's eyes took in the sight. The moon was flooding in behind Kakashi, hard and long cock standing proudly, glistening with pre cum as some beaded out and slipped down his length. Kakashi almost glowed in the moonlight with a flawless body but the one scar across his left eye and Kakashi had his eyes closed as he took a hold of his cock and pumped slowly, spreading the pre cum and Rei was entranced as he sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed.

Kakashi opened his eyes lazily when he felt hands on his hips, pulling his hand away and hunched over Rei, gripping his head gently as Rei sucked his cock into his mouth and pumped up and down a few times and Kakashi couldn't stop moaning with his tongue running up and down the vein on the underside of his cock. Kakashi pulled him away gently and pushed him back onto the bed with a kiss and moaned as he tasted himself on Rei's delicious tongue as he sucked it into his mouth and positioned his hips between Rei's legs on his hands and knees. He sat back quickly and applied cold lube to his throbbing and red dick, hissing at the cool feeling and leaned back over Rei' coaxing Rei's leg with his hand to hook around his waist, eyes of silver trained on Kakashi's mismatched gaze of lust reflecting in both as Rei's legs hooked around Kakashi and began to pull him closer.

Kakashi gripped Rei's waist as he slipped his cock in between Rei's cheeks and prodded at the stretched entrance and was pleased when Rei moaned and threw his head back, pulling Kakashi harder as the head penetrated the first ring of muscles. Kakashi sobbed at the feeling and threw his head back as Rei whimpered, breathing deeply as he focused on relaxing and pulling Kakashi deeper. Kakashi thrusted shallowly and slowly as he pushed a little deeper each time and Rei slid his hands along Kakashi's arms and down his body, looking at him through lust glazed eyes as Kakashi battled to keep his eyes open at the tight heat engulfing him so sweetly that it was torture to go this slow and patient.

He kissed Rei once he was fully sheathed in the tight quivering heat, his balls resting against those perfectly round cheeks as Rei wrapped his arms around Kakashi's shoulders, pulling him close as Kakashi began to slowly and shallowly thrust into Rei who moaned and tightened around Kakashi, trying to pull him impossibly closer. Kakashi broke the kiss, both of them breathing heavily and staring deeply into their eyes as Kakashi raised himself up onto his elbows, his thrusts becoming longer, deeper and faster with his breathing and Rei arched and shouted out as Kakashi grazed his prostate and remembered that angle as he continued to thrust faster, feeling his release coming. Rei moaned and they became higher and more frequent with the hard thrusts of Kakashi, slowly loosing his pace and his control, feeling the glorious and impending orgasm.

Kakashi began breathing out breathy moans as Rei was nearly practically screaming as Kakashi returned to that certain angle and with two more thrusts, brushing up against Rei's sweet prostate, he came over their sandwiched and clenching stomachs, Rei almost loosing all grip and muscles in his body and Kakashi thrusted hard and without rhythm until he groaned/growled, shooting his hot seed up high into Rei's body and marking him as his own, collapsing against another heaving chest.

Rei stretched and Kakashi's soft dick slipped out as Kakashi got up, slowly padding off as Rei was nodding off to sleep. He felt a warm wet cloth running over his stomach with soft butterfly kissed before the bed dipped and the warm body returned on top of his and Rei ran his hands slowly across Kakashi's back, loving the feel and freedom of his skin at they fell asleep together after one last kiss from Kakashi who was practically lying on Rei which was the reason Rei didn't sleep the night before.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed that and i didn't disappoint you either, it was my first time writting a yaoi lemon scene so some feedback would be great. I love writting love scenes but i have to say, posting them is the hardest :) until next chapter...


	28. Chapter 28

Hello my beautiful people! Thanks for the positive feedback about the last chapter but sadly Crossed Paths has come to an end... I know, i'm sad too i love making my fans happy so this is the official last chapter but there's still a little prologue coming up that i'll post tomorrow and then officially list this under 'complete' . I'd like to thank everyone who has followed and supported me and i hope to see you again in another one of my stories. Thanks once again MWAH!

Chapter twenty-eight

Kakashi smiled as he woke up with Rei's midnight primrose scent filling his senses as well as the salty smell of sex. Kakashi opened his eye and looked down to see Rei lying on top of him and the blankets had been thrown off during the night exposing their bodies. His head was snuggled into Kakashi's chest with a loosely fisted hand lying against his shoulder and legs tangled together comfortably as Kakashi sighed and stroked gently at the whip marks on Rei's back, humming in thought. He tucked one hand behind his head and followed a scar that ran from his shoulder all the way down over his cute little ass and slightly down his thigh but Kakashi couldn't reach that far as Rei squirmed a little in his sleep with a hum, snuggling his head back into Kakashi's chest and he smiled.

Kakashi continued to follow the dips in Rei's muscular back with his fingertips, smiling a little to himself as he hadn't been this content in years. Rei was absolutely beautiful from head to toe, the scars only adding to him and his uniqueness of him all, showing he was damaged but still together and Kakashi couldn't love him more… Wait, love…. Kakashi stiffened up at the thought.

"Oh my god…" He breathed out, realising he had said he loved Rei the night before as he prepared him and probably while they were making love…. Kakashi admitted it to himself with a sigh, he was absolutely smitten with the man lying on him currently, naked and post sex.

"You think too much for the early morning…" Rei muttered, pressing a kiss against Kakashi's chest before smiling up at him. "Morning Kakashi." He said silkily and Kakashi actually blushed and Rei laughed silently before sliding up and kissing Kakashi properly.

"You're naughty you know that?" Kakashi grinned at him and Rei laughed as he rested his head against Kakashi's shoulder, still tangled up with him. "How are you feeling?" Kakashi asked, running his hand up and down Rei's lower back.

"A little stiff and sore in my lower back and ass but it's more of a sensual hurt than actual pain, it'll fade away." He said with slight distaste and shrugged at the end.

"I didn't hurt you did I?" Kakashi asked and Rei pressed a smile against Kakashi's shoulder.

"You could never hurt me… It was absolutely perfect, thank you." Rei said, hugging Kakashi who hugged back, blushing with a silly smile on his face. He rolled them over gently and laid on top of Rei who just laughed while Kakashi nuzzled his stomach, arms hooked under him.

"You should probably see Minato-sensei, he probably has your papers ready for you knowing him." Kakashi said against his stomach before he began nipping at his stomach and chest.

"And to do that you'll need to get off of me so I can shower." Rei said out and Kakashi groaned.

"Fine…" He whined out, picking Rei up with him as he got up out of bed, carrying him with Rei's legs wrapped around his waist as he carried them to the bathroom.

"And by the way Kakashi…" Rei began, talking low into Kakashi's ear as he hummed to show he was listening. "I love you too." Rei said, kissing his cheek and Kakashi grinned as his heart bloomed with heavy warmth.

"Time for round two this morning." Kakashi muttered with a lewd grin and Rei's eyes went big.

"Nnnnooo, come on, my ass won't survive. In case you haven't noticed, your cock's not exactly small." Rei whined out, trying to poorly escape the laughing Kakashi's hold.

"I know but if feel I need to reward you." Kakashi said laughing and Rei squeaked as Kakashi dropped him on the floor of the shower carefully and Rei pouted up at him while Kakashi grinned and stepped in, turning the water on where things got steamy.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Morning Minato-sensei." Kakashi said happily, walking into his office and sprawling across the couch comfortably while Minato raised an eyebrow and a grin bloomed on his face.

"How was the date last night?" Minato asked, putting his pen down, leaning back comfortably in his chair.

"Perfectly…" Kakashi practically purred and Minato was trying to hold onto the huge smirk. "He makes the cutest little u…"

"If you finish that sentence…" Rei's voice boomed into the office. "I will personally castrate you with my Kiba." He warned, leaning against the doorframe and slumped over a little and Minato watched with amusement.

"Aw come on Rei-kun, Minato-sensei is practically my father." Kakashi whined out and Minato smiled tenderly at what Kakashi just said.

"And do you really feel comfortable about talking about your sex life with your 'father'?" Rei asked, walking in small steps over to the couch, hands on his hips, staring murderously down at Kakashi.

"Yup, now as I was saying…" Kakashi began quickly before Rei tackled Kakashi on the couch and they wrestled a little with Kakashi laughing and holding his wrists. Minato watched as Kakashi hooked a leg around Rei and kicked his ass with his heel, making Rei freeze and groan as Kakashi gained the upper hand and flipped them over, pinning Rei easily to the couch.

"Oh my god… You two, you know…" Minato began, getting all attention on him as he blushed, making a hole with his index finger and his thumb and using his other hands index finger to push in and out of the hole, grinning as he continued the motion, seeing both of them freeze with blushes travelling down their necks as Minato could guess with Kakashi but he could see it on Rei.

"Sensei!"

"Minato-sama!"

They both squeaked out indignantly as Rei hid his furiously blushing face against Kakashi's shoulder and Minato laughed almost evilly.

"Wait until I tell Kushina and Rin!" Minato said, jumping up and shrugging his coat on.

"Please no." Rei groaned, dropping his head back into the couch and he felt Kakashi laughing silently on top of him still. "And you, will you please get off." He said up to Kakashi who looked down at him with amusement as he slid off of him, onto his haunches and stood up again, straightening his uniform again. "You two gossip worse than any girl I've ever seen doing it." Rei said as he rubbed at his face and sat up carefully.

"Come on, you two are the prime discussion around Konoha at the moment." Minato pouted, standing in front of his desk now with his arms crossed.

"And sometime I think you two fuel those fires yourselves." Rei countered and Minato laughed.

"No of coarse not…" Kakashi said, scratching the back of his head with his other hand on his hip, looking out of the window innocently. Rei rolled his eyes as he stood up and stretched carefully, and Minato watched Kakashi's eye run up and down Rei's body appreciatively and slowly and Minato couldn't help but smile for them… They were two broken souls that had found each other and fixed each other some how, they fit together perfectly like he and Kushina do and laughed silently.

'Back on topic here… I have your first mission waiting for you Rei." Minato said, picking up a scroll from his desk and tossing it to Rei who caught it and immediately unrolled it, reading its contents with focused silver eyes. "And Kushina wants you back here by the evening for a team dinner, just to catch up and Naruto's been nagging about seeing the one with the 'blade like' eyes again… You've been talking to him too much Kakashi." Minato said as Kakashi laughed sheepishly, musing his silver locks

"I'll have this done in half a day and still have time to clean up… I'll see you two later then." Rei said, rolling the scroll up seriously and turning towards the door.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Kakashi drawled in a singsong like voice as Rei stopped and turned around with furrowed eyebrows of confusion. Kakashi stepped closer and grabbed his wrist, yanking him close into him before pulling down his mask and kissing Rei dirtily, a little much for a public place before stepping back from the dazed and slightly swaying Rei with a grin plastered to his face, pulling his mask up.

"You forgot my good bye kiss." Kakashi said with an eye smile, putting his hands in his pockets satisfactorily as Rei shook his head violently and glared at Kakashi.

"Dammit, stop doing that to me!" Rei shouted before closing Minato's door a little hard and Minato grinned to Kakashi's eye smile.

"So what were you saying about Rei… He makes the cutest what?" Minato asked, sitting back in his chair as Kakashi sprawled back on the couch and began to talk again.

Rei ran over the rooftops with a smile plastered to his face. His first mission in his new home where he had friends, family and was even in a relationship as well. He couldn't help but feel like things would have gone sour if he didn't exist and secretly thanked his old organisation for making him even if things started out a little rough but as people said… Things could only get better and for them it did.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N... So... It's the end and here's a little snippet into what the future held for them... Question: Would this be called a prologue or epilogue? Oh well here it is, thank you all for reading :)

Epilogue

Team 7 stood on the bridge… As usual waiting for their lazy and perverted sensei to get there because he was late again. Things were as normal as the could be for the three sixteen year olds as peace had taken rout through the lands and Minato was working hard with forming an alliance with Kirigakure now since Rei's appearance.

Three bodies jumped down in front of them and instantly, all of their faces (Yes, that includes Sasuke's as well) lit up as they stepped up to each other.

"Maa, sorry we're late you see there was someone lying on top of me and then Rin had to finish something off at the hospital and…" Kakashi drawled.

"LIAR!" Naruto and Sakura pointed and shouted before bursting out into laughter and Sasuke smirked in amusement.

"Anyway, we decided to do a little one on one training today… You know we have a joint mission coming up concerning Orochimaru and you're all very vital to it and so Minato-sama suggested we work in pairs of new and old." Rei said, his hands on his hips, wearing the jonin uniform now but he wore his skin tight t-shirt under the flak jacket with his signature blades across his back.

"No matter how many times Minato-sensei says to just call him Minato…" Rin sighed with a smile and Rei laughed nervously.

"You were saying something about one on one training?" Sasuke cut in seriously, touching the curse mark on his neck unconsciously.

"Obviously, Sakura will be working with Rin and then there's you two who always bicker with who is training who so you two decide… Civilly." Kakashi warned and Naruto and Rei smirked at each other, mischief glinting in their eyes. The girls had started moving off already to the other side of the training field.

"Actually… Itachi offered to train me today and I'd like to take him up on that offer." Sasuke said, a slight glimmer of hope in his eyes and Rei smiled and looked at Kakashi.

"Well it would benefit you to power up your sharingan so go right ahead just this once." Kakashi said and Sasuke left in a poof of smoke, leaving a grinning Naruto there.

"Looks like we're left with the knucklehead." Rei mocked with a smirk as he received a death glare.

"Please, no scarring me this time by finding you two up against a tree and hands I do not want to know where otherwise I will tell dad this time." Naruto warned and Rei blushed while Kakashi laughed sheepishly.

"But I just can't keep my hands off of him." Kakashi drawled lazily as he pinched Rei on the ass as he squeaked and jumped forwards, glaring back at Kakashi and holding his abused ass and Naruto glared.

"You two can touch each other as much as you want after this mission and on your honeymoon… I've decided, let's work on my rasen-shuriken." Naruto said, walking out into the middle of the field and focusing his chakra into one hand as a rasengan started up.

"We also have those two ANBU teaming up with us." Rei said seriously with worry as he crossed his arms and looked at Naruto's focused face.

"Tenzo is fine, I worked with him in ANBU many times before and he's shit scared of you since that time I snuck up on you and Minato-sensei training but the other is an ex-ROOT member named Sai… He may be skilled but he's still ROOT. You know the problems they've caused in Konoha since Orochimaru's invasion during those chunin exams." Kakashi said, slight sadness to his eye as Rei wrapped his arm around his waist and pulled him in for a hug, kissing his cheek with the scar running down it.

"Everything will go smoothly and soon enough we'll be married as long as Naruto and Sasuke keep cool heads. This Orochimaru doesn't stand a chance against us and when he's out of the picture, we'll be one step closer to peace in the ninja world, just you wait." Rei said into his ear as he felt Kakashi's arms come up around his back and he rested his head on Rei's shoulder.

Kakashi knew that as long as he had his team and his friends by his side, he could do anything and they would be able to see some sort of peace in their lifetime among the nations even if Naruto had to carry it on for his father as the next Hokage, he would have his friends and comrades by his side and so the chain will continue to grow throughout the ages and Kakashi closed his eyes, tightening his hold on Rei who squeaked slightly before squeezing back… Kakashi couldn't imagine life any other way as he eyes the slight bump on his left hand ring finger under his glove… They would face anything together.


End file.
